Live Updates: NASA Counts Down to Artemis Moon Rocket Launch

The Space Launch System is the most powerful one since the 1960s and 1970s and it's used to send astronauts to the moon. When filled with propellants, the one waiting on the pad will weigh over five million pounds.

It will be able to send tens of thousands of dollars to the moon. The capsule that will be uncrewed for this flight can hold four astronauts.

The S.L.S. is similar to the retired space shuttles in that it has a stretched external tank and side boosters.

NASA reuses a lot of the 1970s space shuttle technology in order to simplify the development of its new moon rocket. The central stage of the rocket is the same size as the shuttle's external tank and covered in orange insulation.

The space shuttle main engines and the four engines in the core stage are the same thing. The engines that were pulled from the old shuttles are used in the Artemis missions. NASA will run out of old shuttle engines after Artemis IV because they won't be used more than once. There will be new engines for Artemis V.

Side boosters were used for space shuttle flights. NASA used to recover and reuse similar boosters. It was decided by the agency that it would be more economical to let the boosters sink into the ocean and use new ones for each flight.

The second stage of the S.L.S. is a modification of the Delta IV rocket used in the Apollo program. The upgraded second stage will make the rocket even stronger.

A diagram showing the different components of the Orion spacecraft.

It's a launch.

A system that could be aborted.

If there is an emergency, the crew module can be carried to safety.

The module is called the CREW one.

Four people can be held together.

The service module has something to do with it.

Powers the crew module.

The development of the crew capsule began in 2006 as part of the previous moon program. The Obama administration tried to cancel the project completely in 2010.

The Space Launch System was created after Congress rebelled against that decision.

Trips that last several weeks in deep space are what the capsule is designed for. The larger the vehicle, the less space it has on the inside for life support systems.