NASA’s Pegasus Barge Delivers Transportation Stand for Future Artemis Work at Marshall

Crews at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, offload a transportation stand from the agency’s Pegasus barge Jan. 9. The barge ferried the stand from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where it was used to transport the launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA) of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for Artemis I. The nearly 28-foot-tall LVSA is a cone-shaped element that connects the rocket’s core stage and interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS). It also partially covers the in-space stage’s single RL10 engine. The LVSA is fully produced and manufactured at Marshall by Teledyne Brown Engineering, the LVSA lead contractor. The transportation stand is one of two at Marshall and will be used as teams continue to manufacture the LVSA for Artemis III. The other stand is in use for production of the Artemis II LVSA. NASA and Teledyne Brown use the stands to maneuver the LVSA hardware from facility to facility, across the facility, and for application of the thermal protection system.