“Launching into the Future: NASA Kennedy’s Ground Systems Gear Up for Artemis II and Beyond”

Collaborative efforts with NASA are gathering speed as advancements are made towards forthcoming lunar missions aimed at serving humanity, with numerous hardware shipments arriving at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida from around the globe for the inaugural crewed Artemis flight test and subsequent lunar endeavors. The skyline at Kennedy will soon witness the addition of structures as teams assemble the ground systems required to support them.

Work crews are making significant progress in simultaneous preparations for the Artemis II flight and the assembly of NASA’s mobile launcher 2 tower, intended for the launch of the SLS (Space Launch System) Block 1B rocket, commencing with the Artemis IV mission. This iteration of NASA’s rocket will employ a more robust upper stage to carry both crew and increased cargo on lunar expeditions. Technicians have initiated testing of the upper stage umbilical connections that will facilitate the delivery of fuel and other essentials to the rocket while it is stationed at the launch pad.

During the summer of 2024, technicians from NASA and contractor Bechtel National, Inc. achieved a significant milestone known as “jack and set,” where the center’s mega-mover, the crawler transporter, relocated the initial steel base assembly for mobile launcher 2 from temporary construction supports to its six permanent pedestals adjacent to the Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building.

“The NASA Bechtel mobile launcher 2 team is ahead of the projected timeline and gaining momentum each day,” commented Darrell Foster, ground systems integration manager, NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program at NASA Kennedy. “Alongside all the advancement at our primary construction site, the remaining tower modules are being assembled and outfitted at an alternative construction site on the center.”

As the base construction of mobile launcher 2 progresses, assembly operations transition into the integration of the modules that will comprise the tower. By mid-October 2024, crews had completed the installation of a platform, referred to as ‘the chair’ due to its resemblance to a large seat. This platform acts as the link between the base deck and the vertical modules which will form the tower and stands at 80 feet tall.

In December 2024, teams successfully finalized the rig and set operation for Module 4, where the first of seven 40-foot-tall modules was positioned atop the chair. Bechtel crews rigged the module using a heavy lift crane, elevating it over 150 feet, and secured it to the four corners of the tower chair. Once finished, the entire mobile launcher structure will soar to nearly 400 feet in height — roughly equivalent to the length of four Olympic-sized swimming pools arranged end to end.

On the opposite side of the center, testing teams at the Launch Equipment Test Facility are evaluating new umbilical interfaces, which will be situated on mobile launcher 2, necessary to support the new SLS Block 1B Exploration Upper Stage. The umbilicals are connecting lines that deliver fuel, oxidizer, pneumatic pressure, instrumentation, and electrical connections from the mobile launcher to the upper stage and various components of SLS and NASA’s Orion spacecraft.

“All ambient temperature testing has been successfully executed, and the team is now initiating cryogenic testing, where liquid nitrogen and liquid hydrogen will flow through the umbilicals to confirm satisfactory performance,” remarked Kevin Jumper, lab manager, NASA Launch Equipment Test Facility at Kennedy. “The Exploration Upper Stage umbilical team has made noteworthy advancements in the check-out and verification testing of the mobile launcher 2 umbilicals.”

The testing encompasses the extension and retraction of the Exploration Upper Stage umbilical arms that will be fitted onto mobile launcher 2. The testing team remotely activates the umbilical arms for retraction, ensuring the separation of the ground and flight umbilical plates occurs as intended, simulating the procedure that will take place during liftoff.