Bechtel has lifted and placed the first tower module of NASA’s Mobile Launcher 2, or ML2, at Kennedy Space Center, paving the way for the vertical installation of the remaining modules.
In the coming months, the tower modules will be stacked until the structure reaches 390 ft, Bechtel said Monday. Designed to be taller and wider than ML1, the platform will serve as an umbilical arm for NASA’s Exploration Upper Stage when transporting and launching space rockets.
Ensuring Safe Launch of Artemis IV Mission
According to Mike Costas, general manager of defense and space at Bechtel, the project crew is working to complete ML2 on schedule, guaranteeing a safe launch of the Artemis IV crew and critical payload.
“This is a significant milestone for the Bechtel and NASA teams,” he added.
Supporting Future NASA Space Operations
The ML2 tower modules are engineered to stabilize the rocket and spacecraft for delivery to the launchpad and connect the infrastructure to provide power, data, communication, propellants, fluids, gases, sound suppression and imagery to the rocket and spacecraft before launch. The 38-story platform will support the Artemis IV mission and future NASA space operations once the Space Launch System Block 1B rocket is ready to carry equipment to the Lunar Gateway.
