移动中的阿尔忒弥斯II号任务核心级

On July 16, 2024, the first core stage of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for the agency’s Artemis II mission began a journey from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The core stage was moved onto the agency’s Pegasus barge, where it will be ferried 900 miles to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Once at Kennedy, engineers will prepare it in the Vehicle Assembly Building for attachment to other rocket and Orion spacecraft elements.

The SLS rocket’s core stage is the largest NASA has ever produced. At 212 feet tall, it consists of five major elements, including two huge propellant tanks that collectively hold more than 733,000 gallons of super-chilled liquid propellant to feed four RS-25 engines. During launch and flight, the stage will operate for just over eight minutes, producing more than 2 million pounds of thrust to propel four astronauts inside NASA’s Orion spacecraft toward the Moon.

Watch a timelapse video of the SLS core stage rollout.

Image credit: NASA/Eric Bordelon & Michael DeMocker

2024年7月16日，NASA用于阿尔忒弥斯II号任务的太空发射系统（SLS）火箭的第一级核心从NASA位于新奥尔良的米丘德组装厂开始了旅程。核心级被转移到该机构的飞马座驳船上，它将被运送900英里到NASA位于佛罗里达州的肯尼迪航天中心。一旦到达肯尼迪航天中心，工程师们将在飞行器装配大楼里对其进行准备，以便与其他火箭和猎户座飞船的部件连接。

SLS火箭的核心级是NASA有史以来生产的最大的。它有212英尺高，由五个主要部分组成，包括两个巨大的推进剂罐，总共可以容纳超过73.3万加仑的超冷液体推进剂，为4台RS-25发动机提供燃料。在发射和飞行期间，该火箭将运行8分钟多一点，产生超过200万磅的推力，推动NASA猎户座飞船内的四名宇航员前往月球。

观看SLS核心级推出的延时视频。
图片来源: NASA/Eric Bordelon和Michael DeMocker