SUPPLY CHAIN

KEY SUPPLIER launch the Orion spacecraft. It consists of two solid rocket boosters, a central core stage with four main engines and an upper stage that pushes the spacecraft into deep space.

Four RS-25 engines, refurbished from Space Shuttles, were used on he bottom of the core stage. These were designed and manufactured beginning in the 1970s by Aerojet Rocketdyne, now part of L3Harris Technologies, and have been upgraded for NASA’ s SLS rocket. Engine 2047, used on the Artemis II core stage, previously flew on 15 Space Shuttle missions, including the final flight in 2011.

The 212-foot-tall core stage was manufactured at NASA’ s Michoud Assembly Facility by Boeing. This supplies propellants to support engine thrust, booster force and the weight of the Orion. Boeing ordered caps for the oxygen and hydrogen tanks within the core stage made from an aluminium alloy from MT Aerospace. This mission’ s core stage was delivered to the Kennedy Space Center on 24 July 2024.

Inside the vehicle assembly building Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building

The Orion spacecraft and SLS were stacked together inside NASA’ s Vehicle Assembly Building( VAB) at the Kennedy Space Center. This process began in late 2024 and continued for roughly a year.

Ground teams used a giant overhead crane to stack components vertically on a mobile launcher, working from the bottom up. The five-segment solid rocket boosters were assembled first,

The capsule includes more than 150 3D printed parts

86 August 2026