Utah company completes solid rocket boosters for NASA’s Artemis
Feb 27, 2024, 3:00 PM
FILE: Spectators watch as the Artemis I uncrewed lunar rocket lifts off at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on November 16. The first piece of the solid rocket boosters that will propel NASA’s Artemis campaign to the moon, and eventually to Mars, is complete. It was built at Northrup Grumman’s facility in Promontory, Utah.(Jim Watson /AFP/Getty Images)
(Jim Watson /AFP/Getty Images)
PROMONTORY, Utah — The machines that will power the Artemis rocket, NASA’s next generation of space exploration, are taking shape in northern Utah.
The first piece of the solid rocket boosters that will propel NASA’s Artemis campaign to the moon, and eventually to Mars, is complete. It was built at Northrup Grumman’s facility in Promontory, Utah.
According to a release from the company, these new rocket boosters are capable of carrying nearly five metric tons more than the previous boosters. Part of the reason is because the casing is made from a weight-saving carbon-fiber composite.
Northrop Grumman has been making solid rocket boosters at their Promontory facility since the days of the Space Shuttle. Now, their new Booster Obsolescence and Life Extension, or BOLE motors are being prepared for NASA’s Artemis campaign.
A full test of these new boosters is scheduled for later this year.
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