Overview

• NASA successfully mated the Space Launch System (SLS) core stage with its solid rocket boosters at Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building on March 23, 2025.
• This marks a major milestone for Artemis II, which will send four astronauts on a 10-day lunar flyby to test systems for future deep space missions.
• The Artemis II crew includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
• The Orion spacecraft, currently undergoing final testing, is scheduled to be stacked with the rocket by late April or early May 2025.
• Persistent heat shield issues on the Orion spacecraft remain a challenge, with NASA targeting no earlier than February 2026 for the Artemis II launch.