Exploration Ground Systems

Rescuers at the Ready at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center

If there’s an emergency at the launch pad during a launch countdown, there’s a special team engineers at Kennedy Space Center teams can call on – the Pad Rescue team. Trained to quickly rescue personnel at the launch pad and take them to safety in the event of an unlikely emergency, NASA’s Pad Rescue team at […]

Posted August 16, 2024

Artemis 2

Artemis

Exploration Ground Systems

Kennedy Space Center

NASA Teams Change Brakes to Keep Artemis Crew Safe

Recently, teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) Program at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center met with engineering teams at a central Florida amusement park to share knowledge on a new braking system NASA is using for its launch pad emergency egress system for Artemis missions. “We have a new magnetic braking system for the […]

Posted August 9, 2024

Artemis 2

Exploration Ground Systems

Kennedy Space Center

NASA Centers & Facilities

Artemis Emergency Egress System Emphasizes Crew Safety

Since NASA began sending astronauts to space, the agency has relied on emergency systems for personnel to safely leave the launch pad and escape the hazard in the unlikely event of an emergency during the launch countdown. During the Mercury and Gemini programs, NASA used launch escape systems on spacecraft for the crew to safely […]

Posted August 6, 2024

NASA Centers & Facilities

Artemis 4

Earth's Moon

Exploration Ground Systems

Kennedy Space Center

Missions

NASA’s New Mobile Launcher Stacks Up for Future Artemis Missions

The foundation is set at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for launching crewed missions aboard the agency’s larger and more powerful SLS (Space Launch System) Block 1B rocket in support of Artemis IV and future missions. On May 9, 2024, teams with NASA’s EGS (Exploration Ground Systems) Program and contractor Bechtel National Inc.

Posted May 10, 2024

Artemis 2

Exploration Ground Systems

Kennedy Space Center

Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle

Splashdown 101: Joint Team to Recover Crew, Orion After Moon Missions

When Artemis II NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen return to Earth after a nearly 10-day mission around the Moon, a joint NASA and Department of Defense team led by NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program will be ready to retrieve them from the Orion spacecraft […]

Posted February 28, 2024

Artemis

Artemis 2

Exploration Ground Systems

Humans in Space

Artemis II Crew, Recovery Teams Train for Final Phase of Moon Mission

NASA astronaut and Artemis II pilot Victor Glover is assisted by U.S. Navy personnel as he exits a mockup of the Orion spacecraft in the Pacific Ocean during training Feb. 25, while his crewmates look on. The Artemis II crew and a team from NASA and the Department of Defense are spending several days at […]

Posted February 26, 2024

Artemis 2

Exploration Ground Systems

Kennedy Space Center

Missions

Artemis Teams Install Emergency Escape Baskets at NASA Kennedy

Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program began installing the four emergency egress baskets at Launch Pad 39B in preparation for NASA’s Artemis II crewed mission at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the event of an emergency at the pad during the launch countdown, these baskets, similar to gondolas on ski lifts, […]

Posted January 26, 2024

Artemis 2

Exploration Ground Systems

Kennedy Space Center

Artemis II Water Deluge Test

NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems conducts a water flow test with the mobile launcher at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center’s in Florida on Oct. 24, 2023. It is the third in a series of tests to verify the overpressure protection and sound suppression system is ready for launch of the Artemis II mission. During liftoff, 400,000 gallons […]

Posted October 26, 2023