NASA Adds Mission, Standardizes SLS to Accelerate Artemis Cadence

NASA announced Feb. 27 it is increasing the cadence of Artemis missions, standardizing the Space Launch System rocket configuration, and adding a new mission. The plans were shared at Kennedy Space Center and included an update on the near-term mission, Artemis II, with a focus on the transportation systems that will carry crew to the Moon.

Artemis I successfully completed an uncrewed test flight of SLS and Orion in November 2022. Artemis II will be the first crewed flight; after a wet dress rehearsal in February, engineers discovered a helium flow issue to the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and rolled the rocket and Orion back to the Vehicle Assembly Building for repairs.

Teams are addressing the issue and performing other work such as battery swaps before the next launch window opens in April. Crew members named for the roughly 10-day mission include Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

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