NASA Pegasus barge docked at KSC Press Site turn basin wharf after delivering NASA’s Artemis III SLS rocket core stage to the Kennedy Space Center on April 27, 2026 from NASA Michoud, New Orleans. Media toured inside Pegasus late April 2026 after core stage offloading. Credit: Jean Wright /SpaceUpClose.com
Story by Jean Wright 2 May 2026
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL – We had an amazing tour of NASA’s Pegasus barge a couple of days ago!
NASA’s top four-fifths of the SLS (Space Launch System) core stage for the Artemis III mission is offloaded from the agency’s Pegasus barge on Tuesday, April 28, 2026, after arriving at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida the prior day. Artemis III will launch astronauts to Earth’s orbit aboard the Orion spacecraft on top of SLS to test rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and commercial spacecraft from SpaceX and or Blue Origin needed to land Artemis IV astronauts on the Moon in 2028. Credit: Ken Kremer / Spaceupclose.com
The 900-mile journey from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans – where the core stage is manufactured – took 6 days. There are 6 crew members on board Pegasus during its maritime travels
NASA Pegasus barge docked at KSC Press Site turn basin wharf after delivering NASA’s Artemis III SLS rocket core stage to the Kennedy Space Center on April 27, 2026 from NASA Michoud, New Orleans. Media toured inside Pegasus late April 2026 after core stage offloading. Credit: Jean Wright /SpaceUpClose.com
Arrival into the turn basin was delayed a few hours while waiting in Port Canaveral channel for the SpaceX Falcon Heavy Viasat-3 mission to launch – which was ultimately scrubbed due to poor weather
NASA Pegasus barge docked at KSC Press Site turn basin wharf after delivering NASA’s Artemis III SLS rocket core stage to the Kennedy Space Center on April 27, 2026 from NASA Michoud, New Orleans. Media toured inside Pegasus late April 2026 after core stage offloading. Credit: Jean Wright /SpaceUpClose.com
Next day the stage was offloaded from Pegasus on a wheeled transporter and transported into the VAB via the KSC Press site parking lot
Originally built in 1999, Pegasus transported shuttle ET’s (External Tanks) to KSC.
NASA Pegasus barge docked at KSC Press Site turn basin wharf after delivering NASA’s Artemis III SLS rocket core stage to the Kennedy Space Center on April 27, 2026 from NASA Michoud, New Orleans. Media toured inside Pegasus late April 2026 after core stage offloading. Credit: Jean Wright /SpaceUpClose.com
The ET holds the over 700,000 gallons of liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid hydrogen (LH2) propellants that fuel the four RS-25 engines located at the base of the SLS core stage
Captain Arlan Cochren, knew I was a seamstress on the shuttle, and showed me where the welded “seams” were when the barge was refurbished several years ago by removing a 115 ft section and replaced by a 165 ft section to accommodate and lengthen it from 260 to 310 ft. Longer than a football field!
NASA Pegasus barge docked at KSC Press Site turn basin wharf after delivering NASA’s Artemis III SLS rocket core stage to the Kennedy Space Center on April 27, 2026 from NASA Michoud, New Orleans. Media toured inside Pegasus late April 2026 after core stage offloading. Credit: Jean Wright /SpaceUpClose.com
The SLS core stage at 212 ft length remains the largest cargo the ship has ever carried.
Jean Wright and Ken Kremer of Space UpClose touring NASA Pegasus barge docked at KSC Press Site turn basin wharf on April 29, 2026, after delivering NASA’s Artemis III SLS rocket core stage to the Kennedy Space Center. Credit: Ken Kremer / Spaceupclose.com
Pegasus is pulled along by two tugboats, Termite and American, at an average speed of 4-7 MPH, depending on the conditions, like weather or rockets launches.
NASA Pegasus barge docked at KSC Press Site turn basin wharf after delivering NASA’s Artemis III SLS rocket core stage to the Kennedy Space Center on April 27, 2026 from NASA Michoud, New Orleans. Media toured inside Pegasus late April 2026 after core stage offloading. Credit: Jean Wright /SpaceUpClose.com
Cochran said it moves so slowly that its like watching paint dry
NASA Pegasus barge docked at KSC Press Site turn basin wharf after delivering NASA’s Artemis III SLS rocket core stage to the Kennedy Space Center on April 27, 2026 from NASA Michoud, New Orleans. Media toured inside Pegasus late April 2026 after core stage offloading. Credit: Jean Wright /SpaceUpClose.com
Prior to the April 27 Falcon Heavy launch attempt, Pegasus waited near the Cape Canaveral locks until the weather eventually scrubbed the launch attempt and it was safe to proceed to KSC.
Pegasus will be heading back to her homeport this Tuesday, May 5, carrying ground support equipment for Project Artemis
You might have a chance to watch it as it sails again through the Cape Canaveral locks and the Port Canaveral channel and Jetty Park Beach and Pier – and thereafter out at sea sailing south in The Atlantic Ocean
Pegasus will then be arriving back at KSC, after a stop in Baltimore to pick up the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope (RST) that is currently being processed at Goddard Space Center, in June, in preparation for a September launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from pad 39B.
Roman is NASAs next great space telescope
Jean Wright and Ken Kremer of Space UpClose touring NASA Pegasus barge docked at KSC Press Site turn basin wharf on April 29, 2026, after delivering NASA’s Artemis III SLS rocket core stage to the Kennedy Space Center. Credit: Ken Kremer / Spaceupclose.com
Enjoy our Photos: Credit to Jean Wright and Ken Kremer for Space UpClose
NASA’s SLS core stage for the Artemis III mission is offloaded from the agency’s Pegasus barge April 28, 2026, and moved to the VAB for processing and stacking at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: Ken Kremer / Spaceupclose.comJean Wright and Ken Kremer of Space UpClose touring NASA Pegasus barge docked at KSC Press Site turn basin wharf on April 29, 2026, after delivering NASA’s Artemis III SLS rocket core stage to the Kennedy Space Center. Credit: Ken Kremer / Spaceupclose.comNASA Pegasus barge docked at KSC Press Site turn basin wharf after delivering NASA’s Artemis III SLS rocket core stage to the Kennedy Space Center on April 27, 2026 from NASA Michoud, New Orleans. Media toured inside Pegasus late April 2026 after core stage offloading. Credit: Jean Wright /SpaceUpClose.comJean Wright and Ken Kremer of Space UpClose touring NASA Pegasus barge docked at KSC Press Site turn basin wharf on April 29, 2026, after delivering NASA’s Artemis III SLS rocket core stage to the Kennedy Space Center. Credit: Ken Kremer / Spaceupclose.com
Watch for Ken’s continuing onsite coverage of NASA, SpaceX, ULA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and more space and mission reports direct from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Stay tuned here for Ken's continuing Earth and Planetary science and human spaceflight news. Dr. Kremer is a research scientist and journalist based in the KSC area, active in outreach and interviewed regularly on TV and radio about space topics. Ken’s photos are for sale and he is available for lectures and outreach events.
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