KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL –  Hot on the heels of NASA’s super successful Artemis II crewed mission around the Moon and back that concluded barely 2 weeks ago, the SLS (Space Launch System) core stage for the next crewed mission, namely Artemis III, arrived at the Florida Space Coast on April 27, after a six-day voyage from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.

The day after the core stage for NASA’s Artemis III rocket arrived on a barge at the Turn Basin wharf at the Press Site of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, in Florida, the huge orange propellant tank was offloaded and transported into the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) on April 28, for further processing and stacking.

It was a very exciting morning, today, Tuesday, April 28, as I was thrilled to watch and photograph the entire process of offloading of the Artemis III core stage from NASA’s newly arrived Pegasus barge onto the KSC Press Site parking lot – following by a multi hour transport into the VAB.

Enjoy our photos taken by Ken Kremer for Space UpClose

Afterwards, I was interviewed live on Fox 35 Orlando, today, April 28, by the world famous Countdown Clock in Florida, to explain what we know so far about the Artemis III mission and the results of Artemis II that will aid significantly in mission planning.

Watch my complete live interview on Fox 35 Orlando here at these links:

https://www.fox35orlando.com/video/fmc-hub2nuctgfk03hcj

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xFG5YY1oeI

Caption: NASA’s Artemis III core stage arrives at Kennedy Space Center on April 27, 2026. The core stage for NASA’s Artemis III rocket has arrived on a barge to be taken to the vehicle assembly building on April 28, 2026 at Kennedy Space Center. Ken Kremer, Managing Editor with Space UpClose, joined FOX 35’s Garrett Wymer live over Zoom to break down what we know so far. Screenshot: Ken Kremer / SpaceUpClose.com / Fox 35 Orlando. Video: https://www.fox35orlando.com/video/fmc-hub2nuctgfk03hcj

We also discussed the results known to date about the Artemis II heat shield and how it compares very favorably to the Artemis I heat shield and the changes NASA made to the reentry trajectory to minimize charring and char loss seen on Artemis I

I watched the entire core stage offloading process during the day, Tuesday, April 28 as a member of the invited media at the KSC Press site.

Offloading of the Artemis III core stage resting atop a transporter from NASA’s Pegasus barge began at around 8 a.m. ET, April 28, on the grounds of the KSC press site

This core stage actually comprises the top 4/5 ths  of the entire Artemis III SLS core stage

The next steps involve attachment of the engine section comprising the lower 1/5 and eventual stacking with the rest of the rocket components for launch sometime later next year from pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center

NASA hopes to launch the crewed Artemis 3 later next year into Earth orbit to test rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and one or both of the commercial lunar landing spacecraft from SpaceX and /or Blue Origin needed to land astronauts on the Moon perhaps as soon as 2028.

The SLS (Space Launch System) Artemis III core stage traveled 900 miles on the Pegasus barge from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans where the stage is manufactured, to complete assembly of the massive rocket at NASA Kennedy.

The trip took 6 days and there were no stops along the way due to poor weather or technical issues

Teams offloaded the top four-fifths of the 212-foot-long core stage, the section containing the liquid hydrogen tank, liquid oxygen tank, intertank, and forward skirt, on Tuesday, April 28 to NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building.

A Life size ‘Rise’ Zero-G indicator mascot from Artemis II joined in the Artemis III core stage arrival  festivities after offloading from the Pegasus barge April 28, 2026, and moved to the VAB for processing and stacking at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Inside the VAB it will be joined to the previously delivered boat-tail and engine section in the facility’s High Bay 2 for outfitting and vertical integration to complete the full stage.

“The Artemis III core stage will be placed horizontally in the transfer aisle of the VAB before being lifted into High Bay 2, where it will be connected to the engine section and its boat-tail, which were integrated in August 2025, said NASA.

At 212 feet tall when fully assembled, the core stage houses two propellant tanks that collectively hold more than 733,000 gallons of super-chilled liquid propellant to fuel four RS-25 engines, as well as the flight computers, or avionics, that act as the brains of the rocket to control flight during ascent.”

“This marks the first time core stage assembly operations are taking place at NASA Kennedy.”

The Artemis I & II core stages were fully assembled at Michoud before shipping to KSC

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Recent TV interview by Ken Kremer

WESH 2 NBC Orlando

video: https://www.msn.com/en-us/technology/space-exploration/artemis-iii-hardware-arrives-as-moon-race-intensifies/ar-AA21WvtK?ocid=BingNewsVerp
video: https://www.wesh.com/article/artemis-iii-hardware-arrives-as-moon-race-intensifies/71155389

Fox 35 Orlando live interview

https://www.fox35orlando.com/video/fmc-hub2nuctgfk03hcj

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xFG5YY1oeI

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