Boeing’s moon rocket core stage delivered to Florida

After a 900-mile (1,448-kilometer) barge trip from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, the top four-fifths (TFF) of Core Stage 3 (CS3) arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Teams will now prepare the hardware for vertical integration with the engine section.

Why it matters: Moving final assembly and engine integration to Kennedy Space Center brings the work directly to the launch site, advancing Artemis III preparations while supporting NASA’s accelerated mission schedule and Boeing’s efficiency efforts to speed core stage deliveries.

This core stage will power Artemis III, which will test systems and docking capabilities in low Earth orbit to prepare for an Artemis IV moon landing in 2028.

A new process: Shipping the top four-fifths of the core stage without the engine section is part of Boeing’s effort to accelerate production, which started in 2022, to move core stage engine and final integration work to the Core Stage Vertical Integration Center at Kennedy Space Center.

• This is the first core stage to undergo final integration – joining of the engine section to the top four-fifths – in the Core Stage Vertical Integration Center. Boeing proactively shifted engine section integration from Michoud to the CSVIC to enable 360-degree access to the stage.
• Boeing and NASA are also upgrading its manufacturing infrastructure with a new engine section integration area, a large sub-assembly clean room, and an engine section support stand at KSC.
• These process improvements are expected to reduce cycle time by up to six months and support NASA’s accelerated production schedule.

What’s next: Manufacturing upgrades will continue as part of Boeing’s accelerated production effort to optimize workflows and reduce cycle time for future builds.

Meanwhile, the core stage will go through additional outfitting ahead of integration with the engine section, followed by attachment of the remaining rocket elements.

By Casey Cappa