NASA and Boeing have entered a new phase of assembling structural parts for the powerful Space Launch System. The critical project is being overseen at Huntsville’s Marshall Space Flight Center with this phase of work completed at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.

Space Launch System (SLS) will be the rocket that launches America’s next lunar mission in 2024. It will be the most powerful rocket ever built and the only one powerful enough to carry the Orion spacecraft, astronauts and supplies to the moon in one launch.

This phase of construction merges the two largest parts of the 212-foot core stage: the massive liquid hydrogen tank and the completed forward section. Upon completion, 80% of the first flight SLS rocket will be connected.

NASA and Boeing will add the engine section and the four RS-25 engines to complete assembly of the core stage with the last piece scheduled to join later this summer.

NASA has produced an informative 60-second video filmed at Marshall Space Flight Center to explain some of the details and science behind SLS.

Watch:

Tim Howe is an owner and editor of Yellowhammer News