NASA’s top official says the rocket expected to power the next mission to the moon is about 90 percent complete.
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NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine spoke during a visit Thursday to a facility in New Orleans where the core stage is being built.
The 212-foot-tall (65-meter-tall) core stage is made up of two liquid propellant tanks and four RS-25 engines.
In the months to come, the engine section will be attached to the rest of the core section. If all goes well, it will power the Artemis 1 test flight in 2020.
Plans call for the rocket to carry a crewless Orion capsule in a double loop around the moon during 25½ days in flight.
Future missions are expected to carry U.S. astronauts, including the first female astronaut to land on the moon.