NASA begins Artemis III RS-25 engine installation

(SpaceEnergy) NASA has begun installing the four RS-25 engines on the Artemis III Space Launch System core stage, starting a new propulsion-integration phase for the crewed lunar mission.

Technicians at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, began the work on 24 August inside the Vehicle Assembly Building after mating the engine section to the upper portion of the core stage earlier this summer. Propulsion and electrical systems will also be integrated throughout the stage.

Each RS-25 weighs about 7,700lb and produces nearly 500,000lbf of thrust. During ascent, the four liquid-hydrogen/liquid-oxygen engines will operate continuously for more than 8min, consuming propellant from the core stage tanks at about 1,500gal/s.

The Artemis III engines — E2054, E2057, E2048 and E2052 — previously flew on Space Shuttle missions. NASA said technicians are also continuing to stack the rocket’s twin solid-fuel boosters, with assembly now more than halfway complete.