KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — Fans who flocked to Florida’s Space Coast for the Artemis I mission will have to wait at least another year before the next Space Launch System (SLS) rocket lights up the skies over the Sunshine State. But that doesn’t mean things are quiet at the center where it launched.

On Wednesday, the 370-foot-tall mobile launcher (ML1) re-emerged from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC). This was its first rollout of the VAB since it carried the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft leading up to the Nov. 14, 2022, launch.

ML1 is the structure that not only physically supports the SLS rocket but also provides key infrastructure through a series of connection lines, like power, fuel, coolant and communications. Near the top is a crew access arm that will eventually allow astronauts to walk onto the Orion spacecraft.

The massive tower now sits in its new home for the next few months: the west park site just beyond the VAB. That is where teams managed by NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will start refurbishment following the Artemis I mission launch and upgrades looking toward Artemis II.

As the towering colossus lumbered by, Spectrum News caught up with ML1 Project Manager David Sumner and Deputy Manager Jesse Berdis. Both NASA leaders described Wednesday as a key step for the Artemis program and KSC.

“We’ve been dealing with this for close to a year now, getting ready for this day,” Sumner said. “This is a big day here at Kennedy Space Center for us with the mobile launcher.”

Sumner said Wednesday’s work starts with the basics: building stairs to access ML1 after the crawler transporter-2 leaves. Then around 3 a.m. Thursday, they began what are known as structural survey scans. 

He noted that they will need to do some repair work as they begin nearly a 10-1/2 month process, but said overall, Artemis I went as expected.

“There was some expected damage. There was a little bit of unexpected. I think one of our main was the elevators. We did receive some damage, unexpected, there, but we’re in the process right now of fixing those, Sumner said. “So overall, it went well.”

Road to Artemis II

The work on the ML1 is being done outside rather than inside the VAB for a simple reason: space. Sumner said they need to work with a large cane to install about 325 feet up the tower and the constraints inside make that unrealistic.

Their team will have the ML1 for about 10-and-a-half months before turning it back over to operations to be able to start stacking the SLS for the Artemis II mission, the first that will feature humans on board Orion.

There are two main systems that will be the focus of that time to support the astronauts and the support crew working on the ML1, the first being the emergency egress system.

“The emergency egress system allows astronauts or personnel to egress or get off the mobile launcher in the case of an emergency,” Sumner explained. “It’s a slide wire basket-type system, very similar to what we had in shuttle.”

Currently, the three platforms and the four baskets, slightly larger than a minivan, that make up the emergency egress system are being fabricated by a company in Rockledge. They anticipate receiving the first completed basket in March and the other three during the summer. 

At that point, they’ll roll the ML1 out to the pad at Launch Complex 39B, where they will conduct a series of tests. Berdis said that testing will last for a few months and will come in two phases: functional testing and integrated testing.

“The functional testing is essentially to make sure that the emergency egress baskets functionally work as designed, per the design, per the requirements that we’re provided,” Berdis said. “We’re going to use a weight system that we can add into the baskets temporarily and simulate the load and make sure that the baskets operate as they nominally should.”

The integrated testing brings in the full team, including the Launch Control Center, the flight team and the Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) systems, tactical vehicles used to evacuate astronauts from the pad away from the rocket.

“Obviously, we intend never to use the system because we expect that the rocket and the systems that we’re designing are going to work at function, but we want to have a backup system, just in case, of course,” Berdis said.

The second key area of improvement will be to human-rate the crew access arm. It’s a process that Sumner said involves a series of swing tests at various speeds and under various conditions.

“So, there’s a lot of variables that we have to go through to make sure that whatever situation we’re in on launch day for Artemis II that we believe the CAA will operate like it’s supposed to,” Sumner said.

Several contractors and subcontractors are involved with the work being done to improve the ML1 for the Artemis II mission. Berdis, who has a background in structural engineering and a love for steel and large structures, said it’s been an amazing eight years for him to work up to the first Artemis mission. 

He said even though much of the world isn’t paying close attention to the Artemis program now that the Artemis I mission launched and landed successfully, the energy is still driving the workforce at Kennedy Space Center. Berdis said that’s especially true for the younger folks who did not have a hand in launching either Apollo or the Space Shuttle.

“We have a lot of new people on the team that never experienced that before, saw that firsthand for the Artemis I launch, and it kind of reignited that fire of energy and the feeling of importance for what we’re doing out here,” Berdis said.

“If there’s one takeaway from this moment, I want everyone to know that we have an army of people ready to tackle this mission and get us ready for Artemis II.”