Artemis IV Boattail Offload and Transport
NASA’s Artemis IV SLS (Space Launch System) core stage boat-tail, covered in a protective blue tarp, arrives inside the NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. Manufactured at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana, the boat-tail is a fairing-like structure that protects the bottom end of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket core stage and RS-25 engines.