NASA’s Artemis II mission is moving forward with the successful integration of its core stage at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The core stage, the largest component of the rocket, was stacked atop the solid rocket boosters using a crane on March 23. This marks another significant milestone for the agency’s crewed spaceflight program.
The 212-foot-tall core stage is the backbone of the rocket, supporting critical components including the Orion spacecraft and various propulsion systems. The integration process is crucial to confirming the foundational systems needed for human deep space exploration.
The Artemis II mission will send a crew of four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the Moon, testing key aspects of the agency’s plans for lunar surface missions and future human missions to Mars. With this successful core stage integration, NASA is one step closer to achieving its ambitious goals in space exploration.
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/blogs/missions/2025/03/24/nasas-artemis-ii-core-stage-integration-complete-at-kennedy