Artemis II crew to launch to the moon on 43 years of shuttle parts

[BootinUp]

March 31, 2026 — The first astronauts to fly to the moon since the end of the Apollo program are launching on a vehicle built out of space shuttle history.

Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover and mission specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen did not launch on any of the winged orbiters. The three who flew before — Wiseman, Glover and Koch — all logged time on the International Space Station after flying on either Russia Soyuz or SpaceX Dragon spacecraft.

The Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft, by comparison, have components flown on 86 space shuttle missions. The heavy-lift rocket and space capsule (specifically, its service module) have heritage dating back 44 years and as recent as the final mission of the program.

The Artemis II launch will mark the last use of this historic hardware, with each either being dropped into the ocean to sink or be destroyed later when reentering Earth's atmosphere.

T-minus 6 seconds

The first shuttle-legacy hardware to fire up again on Artemis II are three of the four RS-25 engines mounted at the base of the SLS core stage. Previously known as a space shuttle main engine, the RS-25 was modified for use with the SLS, gaining a new engine controller and software, as well as added nozzle insulation to protect from booster exhaust.

Engines 2047, 2059 and 2061 were used on space shuttle orbiters, according to L3 Harris (previously Aerojet Rocketdyne), NASA's contractor for the RS-25. The fourth engine flying on Artemis II, 2062, was assembled from spare parts left over from the shuttle program.

Engine 2047 has the longest flight history, having been launched on 15 missions, as compared to five by 2059 and two by 2061. It first flew in 1998, helping send Discovery and the STS-91 crew on the final mission to dock with Russia's space station Mir.

Article has more examples of reused hardware, at the link https://www.collectspace.com/news/news-033126a-artemis-ii-space-shuttle-legacy-hardware.html

[NNadir]

1. Garbage dump on the moon, how charming!

The symbolism is probably not worth the energy expenditure of extra mass.

I can't help it; I'm appalled by this event.

[BootinUp]

2. It is not doing much for us. Nt

[NNadir]

3. The mission or the shuttle waste?

I argue it is true for both cases, not doing much for us.

It is possible, although I'm sure there's huge amounts of it, that shuttle waste is probably interesting for materials science forensics.

[BeneteauBum]

4. Space science is our future

Except for a bad seal and a block of ice, the shuttle program was a remarkable success. We are building on that success…….in some cases using proven technology such as incorporating refurbished shuttle parts. We are in the golden age of space exploration and anyone who says they don’t see the merit only has to pick up their cell phone and look at it. So many advances are due to spinoffs from our desire to venture off our planet.

Peace ☮️