Artemis Moon Program

This video was uploaded four days ago and it shows the engineering test-model of the SLS payload adapter being moved for testing at NASA Marshal:


These photos and videos show how crews at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, moved and installed the payload adapter that will be used in the Block 1B configuration of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket from Building 4708, where it was manufactured, into Structural Test Stand 4697 at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center on March 13. Teams at Marshall will begin structural testing the engineering development unit of the payload adapter – an exact replica of the flight version of the hardware – this spring. The cone-shaped payload adapter is about 8.5 feet tall and features two metal rings and eight composite panels. The adapter, which will debut on NASA’s Artemis IV mission, is an evolution from the Orion stage adapter used in the Block 1 configuration of the first three Artemis missions. It will be housed inside the universal stage adapter atop the rocket’s more powerful in-space stage, called the exploration upper stage. The payload adapter, like the launch vehicle stage adapter and the Orion stage adapter, is fully manufactured and tested at Marshall, which manages the SLS Program. NASA is working to land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moo kmn under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft and Gateway in orbit around the Moon and commercial human landing systems, next-generational spacesuits, and rovers on the lunar surface. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.
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Phillip Sloss has put out a new Artemis video concerning the possibilities of Starship slowdowns and the possible effects on the Artemis programme:


The week ended on a couple of down notes for NASA's Artemis programs, as reporting by Eric Berger for Ars Technica detailed SLS workforce reductions for Boeing and a study of alternative Artemis missions if there are more SpaceX Starship delays -- as the agency's baseline commitments predict.
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Delays to upcoming and future Artemis missions and budget cuts helped lead to a reduction in money for Boeing's SLS work and so the prime contractor for SLS Stages will be reducing SLS headcount by transferring people out of the program or layoffs.
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NASA is also looking at a substitute Artemis mission where Orion would rendezvous and dock with a Starship HLS spacecraft in Earth orbit, in case there are more delays in the technology development that SpaceX still needs to complete for Starship to go to the Moon.
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Here are links to the two stories:
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https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/04...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...-workers-on-sls-rocket-program/&v=xRVd5z1XHy4
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https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/04...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...-orion-dock-in-low-earth-orbit/&v=xRVd5z1XHy4
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Imagery is courtesy of NASA, except where noted.
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00:00 Intro
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00:32 First story: Boeing says it will cut SLS workforce
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03:02 Second story: If Starship can't make it to the Moon by 2026, what about Earth orbit rendezvous with Orion?
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06:35 Just taking ICPS off SLS Block 1 would probably be a showstopper, a form-fit mass simulator would be much cheaper
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08:58 Possible drawbacks to these study alternatives
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10:22 Other alternatives to Artemis III lunar landing mission
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12:10 Thanks for watching!
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And here's another video concerning NASA's investigation into Artemis 1 heat-shield issues post-reentry:


Dive into NASA's ongoing investigation into the heat shield issues encountered during the Artemis 1 moon mission with Orion spacecraft.
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Phillip Sloss has just put out another Artemis video:


This video takes a look back at the time five years ago in 2019 that NASA made an about-face on the SLS Core Stage Green Run, attempting to cancel it.
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It's been three years since the SLS Core Stage Green Run was successfully completed, but it was five years ago, around the time that NASA took the name Artemis for its human exploration efforts, that delays in SLS Core Stage production prompted leadership in NASA appointed by the Trump Administration to look for any way to launch the first Artemis Moon mission before the 2020 election.
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In the spring of 2019, a series of trial balloons were released to try to keep that mission, previously named Exploration Mission-1, on the most recent aspirational schedule at the time. The Green Run campaign was not cancelled, but the push to cut it and hold onto the 2020 schedule got pushback from the safety community about the risks and raised questions about why the change of heart.
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Imagery is courtesy of NASA, except where noted.
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00:00 Intro
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01:58 Confusing logic about engines and stages and testing...is that schedule pressure?
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04:51 An aside about Core Stage and status at the beginning of 2019
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07:11 Administration looks to reduce SLS exposure to lunar landing policy in 2019
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09:27 Skipping Green Run studied privately as an option in 2018 before public questions the next year
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12:11 Pushback from NASA safety advisory panel, details about Green Run objectives
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17:51 Summarizing the power play from the administration
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20:50 Thanks for watching!
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