NASA’s Space Launch System rocket lifted off with the Boeing-built core stage powering ascent and separating about eight and a half minutes into flight, enabling the Orion spacecraft to begin a 10-day mission around the moon with four crew members aboard.
Why it matters: The successful core stage performance demonstrates restored heavy-lift capability that supports NASA’s plan to return astronauts to the moon and sustain future deep-space exploration.
Boeing manufactured the 212-foot (65-meter) core stage at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans and supplied key systems that operated during launch.
The orange core stage consists of the rocket’s two main fuel tanks and the engines that provide the thrust needed to get to space.
