Artemis III rocket gets new component thanks to Huntsville engineers

Engineers and technicians at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville recently installed a key component called the frangible joint assembly onto the adapter that connects the core stage to the upper part of the NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket.

The cone-shaped stage adapter — called the launch vehicle stage adapter — will be part of the SLS mega rocket that will power NASA’s Artemis III mission to the Moon.

The Artemis III mission

Following two Artemis test missions, Artemis III — currently planned for 2025 — will mark humanity’s first return to the lunar surface in more than 50 years. NASA will make history by sending the first humans to explore the region near the lunar South Pole.

Four astronauts will depart from Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop the SLS, the only rocket powerful enough to send Orion, its crew, and their supplies to the Moon in a single launch. 

NASA has its sights set on locations around the South Pole for the Artemis era of human lunar exploration. Extreme, contrasting conditions make it a challenging location for Earthlings to land, live, and work, but the region’s unique characteristics hold promise for unprecedented deep space discoveries.

Marshall Space Flight Center’s contribution to Artemis III

Engineers and technicians at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville recently installed a key component called the frangible joint assembly onto the adapter that connects the core stage to the upper part of the NASA’s SLS rocket.

The frangible joint sits atop the adapter and operates as a separation mechanism. The frangible joint is designed to break apart upon command, allowing the upper part of the rocket, NASA’s Orion spacecraft, and the crew inside Orion to quickly separate from the SLS core stage and adapter.

Frangible joint assemblies are widely used across the space industry in a variety of crewed and uncrewed spacecraft to efficiently separate fairings or stages during launch, during ascent, in orbit and during payload deployment.

The stage adapter used for Artemis III is set to be the last of its kind as SLS evolves into a larger and more powerful configuration for future Artemis missions, beginning with Artemis IV.

The adapter is fully assembled at Marshall by NASA and lead contractor Teledyne Brown, which is also based in Huntsville.

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