Like a rolling stone. ⁣ ⁣ On July 16, 2024, NASA rolled out the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket’s core stage for the Artemis II test flight from its manufacturing facility in New Orleans.⁣ ⁣ Using highly specialized transporters, engineers maneuvered the giant core stage from inside NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility to the Pegasus barge. The barge will ferry the stage more than 900 miles (1450 km) to NASAKennedy, where engineers will prepare it for attachment to other rocket and Orion spacecraft elements.⁣ ⁣ The SLS rocket’s core stage is the largest NASA has ever produced. At 212 feet (65 meters) tall, it consists of five major elements, including two huge propellant tanks that collectively hold more than 733,000 gallons (2.8 million liters) of super-chilled liquid propellant to feed four RS-25 engines. During the Artemis II launch and flight, the stage will operate for just over eight minutes, producing more than 2 million pounds (907,000 kg) of thrust to propel four astronauts insid...