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Get an exclusive peek inside NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building


Peek inside NASA's: Two rocket boosters inside a huge vertical enclosure, surrounded by girders.
NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy Space Center is the largest single-story building in the world. Here’s a peek inside NASA’s VAB showing the solid rocket boosters that will lift the Artemis 2 mission into space. The Artemis missions seek to return astronauts to the moon. Image via Greg Diesel Walck.

An exclusive peek inside NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building

NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) is the largest single-story building in the world and one of the largest buildings in the world by volume. It covers eight acres (32,000 square meters) and is 525 feet (160 meters) tall and 518 feet (157 meters) wide. This immense shelter is where engineers stack the rockets before rolling them out to the launch pad. EarthSky’s Greg Diesel Walck brings you an exclusive peek inside this iconic structure at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On February 25, 2025, he was there to capture new images of Artemis 2, the U.S. mission that plans to return humans to the moon.

The 2025 EarthSky lunar calendar makes a great gift. Get yours today!

Artemis 2 inside the VAB

Tall, square, open structure of blue girders surrounding a vertical orange cylinder.
First we see the core stage of the Space Launch System (SLS) for the Artemis 2 mission. It’s the orange cylinder sitting inside the blue support beams. The core stage stands more than 20 stories (212 feet or 64 meters) high. Image via Greg Diesel Walck.
Huge, brightly lit enclosed workshop with a yellow cone with a red top sitting upright on the floor.
Next, we see the Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter. This cone-shaped piece sits atop the core stage. Above it will sit more engines and adapters and then the Orion crew capsule. Image via Greg Diesel Walck.
A big metal bridge and a lot of support beams plus 2 giant white cylinders with cone tops. One tiny man.
Finally, we see the tops of the solid rocket boosters that will lift Artemis 2 into space. Image via Greg Diesel Walck.
Diagram showing the pieces of the SLS rocket and Artemis capsule with labels.
Now take a look at a diagram showing the component parts of Artemis, from the Space Launch System (SLS) rocketry to the Orion crew capsule. Can you recognize some of these pieces in the VAB images above? Image via NASA.

The exterior of the VAB

Cloudy sky over enormous building with American flag and NASA logo. A huge orange cylinder lying next to it, with tiny people.
Back in July 2024, Greg Diesel Walck caught the Artemis 2 moon rocket core (orange, lying horizontally), in front of NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Note the workers below the rocket. They give you a good idea of the scale of both the immense rocket and the VAB. Image via Greg Diesel Walck for EarthSky.

Bottom line: EarthSky’s Greg Diesel Walck visited Kennedy Space Center on February 25, 2025, to give you an exclusive peek inside NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Here’s a look at Artemis 2, the mission that will return humans to lunar orbit.

Read more: Artemis 2 and 3 moon missions delayed, NASA says

The post Get an exclusive peek inside NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building first appeared on EarthSky.



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Peek inside NASA's: Two rocket boosters inside a huge vertical enclosure, surrounded by girders.
NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy Space Center is the largest single-story building in the world. Here’s a peek inside NASA’s VAB showing the solid rocket boosters that will lift the Artemis 2 mission into space. The Artemis missions seek to return astronauts to the moon. Image via Greg Diesel Walck.

An exclusive peek inside NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building

NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) is the largest single-story building in the world and one of the largest buildings in the world by volume. It covers eight acres (32,000 square meters) and is 525 feet (160 meters) tall and 518 feet (157 meters) wide. This immense shelter is where engineers stack the rockets before rolling them out to the launch pad. EarthSky’s Greg Diesel Walck brings you an exclusive peek inside this iconic structure at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On February 25, 2025, he was there to capture new images of Artemis 2, the U.S. mission that plans to return humans to the moon.

The 2025 EarthSky lunar calendar makes a great gift. Get yours today!

Artemis 2 inside the VAB

Tall, square, open structure of blue girders surrounding a vertical orange cylinder.
First we see the core stage of the Space Launch System (SLS) for the Artemis 2 mission. It’s the orange cylinder sitting inside the blue support beams. The core stage stands more than 20 stories (212 feet or 64 meters) high. Image via Greg Diesel Walck.
Huge, brightly lit enclosed workshop with a yellow cone with a red top sitting upright on the floor.
Next, we see the Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter. This cone-shaped piece sits atop the core stage. Above it will sit more engines and adapters and then the Orion crew capsule. Image via Greg Diesel Walck.
A big metal bridge and a lot of support beams plus 2 giant white cylinders with cone tops. One tiny man.
Finally, we see the tops of the solid rocket boosters that will lift Artemis 2 into space. Image via Greg Diesel Walck.
Diagram showing the pieces of the SLS rocket and Artemis capsule with labels.
Now take a look at a diagram showing the component parts of Artemis, from the Space Launch System (SLS) rocketry to the Orion crew capsule. Can you recognize some of these pieces in the VAB images above? Image via NASA.

The exterior of the VAB

Cloudy sky over enormous building with American flag and NASA logo. A huge orange cylinder lying next to it, with tiny people.
Back in July 2024, Greg Diesel Walck caught the Artemis 2 moon rocket core (orange, lying horizontally), in front of NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Note the workers below the rocket. They give you a good idea of the scale of both the immense rocket and the VAB. Image via Greg Diesel Walck for EarthSky.

Bottom line: EarthSky’s Greg Diesel Walck visited Kennedy Space Center on February 25, 2025, to give you an exclusive peek inside NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Here’s a look at Artemis 2, the mission that will return humans to lunar orbit.

Read more: Artemis 2 and 3 moon missions delayed, NASA says

The post Get an exclusive peek inside NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building first appeared on EarthSky.



from EarthSky https://ift.tt/kQyuMLp

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