NASA, Boeing sign $3.2B rocket production contract

HUNTSVILLE — NASA has signed a $3.2 billion contract with Boeing of Huntsville to continue manufacturing core and upper stages for future Space Launch System (SLS) rockets for the Artemis program.

Under the SLS Stages Production and Evolution Contract, Boeing will produce SLS core stages for Artemis III and IV, procure critical and long-lead material for the core stages for Artemis V and VI, provide the exploration upper stages for Artemis V and VI, as well as tooling and related support and engineering services.

In October 2019, NASA provided initial funding and authorization for Artemis III core stage work and targeted long-lead materials and cost-efficient bulk purchases. The finalization of this contract extends production activities and preparations for work through July 2028. As part of the contract NASA may order up to 10 core stages and eight exploration upper stages total to support future deep space exploration missions.

“NASA’s Space Launch System rocket is the only rocket capable of sending large cargos and soon, astronauts to the moon,” said John Honeycutt, SLS Program manager. “The SLS core stage is the backbone of NASA’s moon rocket, producing more than 2 million pounds of thrust at launch, and the addition of the exploration upper stage will enable NASA to support missions to deep space through the 2030s.”

The SLS rocket delivers propulsion in stages and is designed to evolve to more advanced configurations to power NASA’s deep space missions. Each SLS rocket configuration uses the same 212-foot-tall core stage to produce more than 2 million pounds of thrust to help propel the mega rocket off the launch pad.

For the first three Artemis missions, SLS uses an interim cryogenic propulsion stage with one RL10 engine to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft to the moon. Beginning with Artemis IV, the SLS Block 1B rocket configuration will be propelled by the more powerful EUS with larger fuel tanks and four RL10 engines to send a crewed Orion and large cargos to the moon. All the structures for the rocket’s core stage and EUS are manufactured at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.