As Artemis I draws closer to its first rollout at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, representatives from NASA–Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) met with members of the local media last week to discuss the upcoming Artemis Mission as well as to answer questions regarding the mission.

Marshall Space Flight Center Director Jody Singer and SLS Program Manager John Honeycutt updated the audience on the most recent progress of the Artemis program.

“Yesterday, having a successful Flight Readiness Review at the Center and being able to let that be the next step that takes us to the Agency Flight Readiness Review is just a monumental effort that is not only about our Marshall team, but about our contractor team and all the suppliers that are all over the United States that have supported this vehicle,” Singer said.

Marshall Space Flight Center Director Jody Singer and SLS Program Manager John Honeycutt

“Not only getting this vehicle ready for Artemis 1, but making sure that they were ready for the Artemis II, and III, and IV missions as we go farther and farther into space and also as we deliver the first female and the first person of color to the surface of the Moon.

“So, yes, we are launching SLS this year, and it is a proud moment to say that,” she continued. Singer also stated that the SLS has finished the last of its tests inside the Vehicle Assembly Building and will start its day-long, four mile trip to Launch Complex 39B on March 17 for a series of tests known as the wet dress rehearsal.

“I know all of us have friends and neighbors who have contributed to the success that we’re going to see on this first historical flight of the Space Launch System and the Rocket City will have another proud launch day to celebrate,” Honeycutt said. “ I do know this launch is going to inspire the next generation of engineers and STEM professionals, and boy, we really do need that.”

Honeycutt reported that there are four other SLS rockets in various stages of production “in some shape or form as we speak today, but Artemis 1 will be the test flight that lays the foundation for a new era of deep space exploration that will take humans to the moon and on to Mars.”

In response to a question regarding potential complications arising from strained relations with Russia with regard to both the SLS and the International Space Station, Singer stated that NASA continues to have a great working relationship with all of its international partners.

“We are going strong. Space is the place where there has been an opportunity for cooperation that is boundless.”

“Technology and security, internet security, has been on the forefront for us since the beginning of the program…any computers or electronic equipment that we use on the ground to check the rocket out, all those go through a stringent screening process,” Honeycutt responded, adding that they have no concerns whatsoever about potential breaches leading up to the rollout.

Honeycutt also addressed recent reports about soaring costs for the SLS, explaining that the SLS has been appropriated for about $20 billion since 2012 for its life from 2012 to 2021.

“We used about $11 billion of that for the development and the production and the assembly for Artemis 1 and the balance of that has gone toward what I alluded to earlier relative to getting those other five rockets in flow,” he explained, referring to the other SLS hardware currently in production.

“I think that sometimes gets lost in the translation,” Honeycutt said. “This is a generational rocket and we all know development is costly early on.”

Honeycutt also discussed the elements of the SLS that originated in Huntsville.

“Most of it’s not manufactured in Huntsville; some of it is, but the design and the development activities, by and large, occur here in Huntsville and the Marshall Space Flight Center,” he clarified.

Honeycutt said that the four RS-25 engines being used on the first four flights are known as

‘heritage assets,’ converted to meet the needs of the SLS rocket. The core stage was designed and tested in Huntsville, as were the hydrogen and oxygen tanks, the intertank, and the bottom of the engine section. He noted that the solid rocket boosters, which were made in Utah by Northrop Grumman, are comprised primarily of heritage assets from the Shuttle program.

Whereas the boosters had four propellant segments under the shuttle program, for the SLS they have five.

“We get a decent amount more energy and thrust out of the solid rocket boosters now,” Honeycutt stated.

The Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter, a conical component located at the top of the core engine, is built in-house at MSFC and managed by Teledyne Brown Engineering.

“A part you can’t see, the Orion Stage Adapter, which mates the Orion capsule to the rocket, is made here in Huntsville, and it’s manufactured solely in-house,” Honeycutt added.

The Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage, Honeycutt noted, is made in Decatur at United Launch Alliance (ULA). Singer added that Marshall also supports work on the Orion capsule and the Launch Abort System, “one of the safety enhancements that we have from the days of the Shuttle.”

“There’s a lot of activity at Marshall. Our engineers and our partners have fingerprints all over it,” Singer said, adding that all fifty states have been involved in some way with its production, along with 3,000 small businesses and contractors.

“From a standpoint of the confidence that I have in John and his team and the confidence we have in [Marshall Space Flight] Center as well as our partners, there’s no doubt we have the right people on the team to make this happen and write these chapters of history,” Singer said. “We are ready to help lead, and continue to lead, in exploration.”

Lisa Watson-Morgan, Program Manager of the Human Landing System (HLS), also provided insights into the future of the Orion program with regard to Artemis III, which will land the first humans on the Moon in 2025.

“The difference this time is our partnerships. We’re doing this with industry, and what we did was send out a reduced set of requirements. Instead of NASA doing the entire design, we said ‘here are the things we need you to do for a lander system.’ Last year we were able to select the SpaceX Corporation to be our first lander contractor. And we’re very excited to be partnering with them on their Starship concept,” Watson-Morgan said.

“We will also have a test flight prior to that in 2024,” Watson-Morgan said. “We are just beginning to work with SpaceX on their verifications because, as Jody and John both mentioned, crew safety is quintessential. And that’s NASA’s role,” she added. The 2024 test flight will be uncrewed and will enter lunar orbit, where it will be evaluated for safety and reliability in preparation for the Artemis III manned launch.

“Since we only selected one [contractor] for the first mission, it was critical for us from a community support standpoint and just overall aerospace standpoint to make sure we were able to continue to work with as many providers as we can. So we issued another smaller group of procurements to continue a low level of work with companies. We were able to award [one] to Dynetics, which is a local company; Northrop Grumman, which has a NASA presence here; Lockheed Martin, who also has a presence here; SpaceX again; and Blue Origin, who has a presence here,” Watson-Morgan continued. “It’s great to see just so many companies excited about the nation’s return to the Moon.”

Although Watson-Morgan was unable to provide details, she revealed that on March 23, there will be “a really big announcement about the future.”