Plate Nº 61 · recorded October 28, 2026
Space & AstronomyReported finding
Artemis III Core Stage Now Stacked With Boosters in Florida
NASA stacked the 212-foot Artemis III SLS core stage with its twin solid boosters on Oct. 28, ahead of a tanking test and a four-astronaut lunar mission.
By Marcus Bennett3 min read590 words
In brief
- NASA integrated the Artemis III SLS core stage with its twin solid rocket boosters on Oct. 28, 2026.
- The core stage measures 212 feet and was lifted using a one-of-a-kind lifting beam.
- A tanking test at Pad 39B will load liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the core stage only.
- Artemis III will fly astronauts Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio, Andre Douglas and Luca Parmitano in Orion.
- The mission will test Orion rendezvous and docking with commercial spacecraft from Blue Origin and SpaceX.
By Marcus Bennett
NASA joined the Artemis III Space Launch System core stage with its twin solid rocket boosters on Oct. 28 inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mating completes the rocket's "short stack" configuration and moves the agency one step closer to its next crewed lunar campaign.
What happened inside the Vehicle Assembly Building?
The operation began days earlier. On Oct. 22, technicians lifted the 212-foot core stage — its four engines capped in red — from the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building. Photos taken that Thursday show the orange stage hanging vertically above the floor as a crane raised it into position.
By Friday, Oct. 23, the stage was back in handling position in the transfer aisle. On Sunday, Oct. 25, a crane lowered it between the two boosters, whose nose cones already stood on the mobile launcher. Three days later, on Oct. 28, NASA declared the core stage integrated alongside the twin solid rocket boosters.
The lift relied on a one-of-a-kind lifting beam, built specifically to hoist the core stage out of High Bay 2 and set it onto the mobile launcher — the movable platform that carries the assembled rocket to its launch pad. Takeaway: the hardest lift in the stacking sequence is done.
What comes next for the rocket?
Testing and checkouts come first. Once those finish, teams will roll the core stage and booster stack out to Launch Pad 39B.
At the pad, crews will run a tanking test. In plain terms, that means loading the core stage's own tanks — liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen — with fuel while launch teams rehearse countdown procedures and timelines. Only the core stage tanks will be filled during the exercise. That rehearsal matters because it lets teams practice the hours-long fueling and count sequence under real cryogenic conditions, where seals, valves and instrumentation behave differently than at room temperature. Takeaway: the stack leaves the building only after checkout work clears it for a fueled dress rehearsal.
Who is flying on Artemis III?
NASA has named four astronauts for the mission:
- Randy Bresnik (NASA)
- Frank Rubio (NASA)
- Andre Douglas (NASA)
- Luca Parmitano (ESA — European Space Agency)
They will launch in the Orion spacecraft mounted on top of the SLS rocket. Artemis III carries a specific technical objective beyond the flight itself: testing rendezvous and docking between Orion and commercial spacecraft built by Blue Origin and SpaceX. NASA frames that capability as a prerequisite for the missions that follow, which aim to land astronauts on the Moon.
In other words, this flight is as much an infrastructure test as a voyage. Orion must prove it can meet and link with commercial vehicles in space before the lunar landing architecture works end to end. Takeaway: four named astronauts now have a rocket stacked and waiting beneath their spacecraft.
Why the timeline matters
Stacking the core stage with its boosters is a milestone practitioners read as a schedule signal. Hardware in High Bay 3 means the major structural elements of the SLS are physically together, and remaining work shifts toward testing, rollout and fueling rehearsals rather than assembly.
The photos NASA released — credited to Sean Cannon, Cory S. Huston and Frank Michaux — document each stage of the operation, from the Oct. 22 lift in the transfer aisle to the completed short stack framed by the boosters' nose cones in High Bay 3.
The next visible marker will be the roll to Pad 39B. Watch for it.
via images-assets.nasa.gov (Original)
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News editor covering regulation, policy and their impact on general science news at SciBeat.
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