Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies Company, is helping install four of its RS-25 liquid-propellant rocket engines in NASA’s second Space Launch System (SLS) core stage at the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans. The beginning of installation of the upgraded former Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME) in Core Stage-2 at MAF on Sept. 11 comes several months later than previous plans. The engines were originally uncrated and prepped for installation early this year, around the time that the core stage engine section was mated to the rest of the stage, but core stage readiness was delayed, the engines went back in their storage containers sometime around March and stayed there until the end of August, when pre-install preparations were redone. After the engines are all installed in the stage and all the other stage hardware is fully assembled, final integrated testing can be completed ahead of delivery to its Kennedy Space Center (KSC) launch site, which NASA says will occur in November or late fall. First RS-25 installed on Sept. 11 The first engine installed in the core stage for the Artemis II crewed, lunar-flyby flight test was engine 2059, which was bolted into the number two position…
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RS-25 engine installation into the Artemis II SLS Core Stage begins
