NASA’s future Artemis Launch Tower at Kennedy Space Center has over a year of work, but all the big pieces have been introduced.
The end of the seven modular steel blocks that make up most of the tower’s height was enacted by tower contractor Bechtel on July 2nd.
The block, known as MOD 10, reaches 377 feet tall from the base structure.
“The results highlight the continued partnership with NASA and local unions and the steady progress of the team towards the safe delivery of this critical infrastructure,” the company said in an emailed statement.
The latest addition, called “The Top the Top,” tracks progress on the company’s website.
Mod 4 is the first of seven blocks installed on January 3rd, expanding its 272-foot structure in under six months. MOD 10 supports the ML-2 crew access arm, one of the parts that has not yet been assembled before the company’s November 2026 deadline for delivery to NASA.
The ML-2 is designed for use in a larger version of NASA’s space launch system rocket. This will not fly until the Artemis IV mission at least on NASA’s roadmap in late 2028.
The first three Artemis missions include the ML-1 used by NASA’s disabled constellations program.
Crane Tower (Richard Toribou/Orlando Sentinel) on adjacent Mobile Launcher 2 in the Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building on Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Crane Tower (Richard Toribou/Orlando Sentinel) on adjacent Mobile Launcher 2 in the Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building on Tuesday, July 22, 2025
Crane Tower (Richard Toribou/Orlando Sentinel) on adjacent Mobile Launcher 2 in the Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building on Tuesday, July 22, 2025
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Crane Tower (Richard Toribou/Orlando Sentinel) on adjacent Mobile Launcher 2 in the Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building on Tuesday, July 22, 2025
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Artemis I was the first SLS launch. This is a test flight that brought Orion back to the moon. Artemis II is Orion’s first crew member and hopes to send four astronauts on a trip around the moon without landing by April 2026.
Artemis III sees humans as turning back to the moon for the first time since the end of the Apollo program in 1972. That mission will rely on SpaceX’s development spacecraft to be completed as a human landing system, with new spaces from Axiom Space targeting launch by summer 2027.
Whether the ML-2 will be used is a problem as President Trump proposed in 2026, as well as the Exploration Ground Systems teams from KSC-based Orion Spacecraft, Gateway Lunar Space Station and NASA were attempting to end the Exploration Ground Systems teams in 2026 after the Artemis III flight.
But led by Senator Ted Cruz’s efforts, Congress was able to add more than $10 billion to this year’s “Big, Beautiful Bill,” allowing both the launch of both the fourth and fifth Artemis and the money for Orion and Gateway.
Additionally, versions of both the 2026 Senate and House Budget Bill aim to maintain funding for Artemis’ existing programs. Congress is the ultimate decision-maker of what the federal budget will look like, but without an agreement, NASA could continue its funding based on current levels with ongoing resolutions.
Still, with no funds already taken, work is ongoing in preparation for the ML-2 for the fourth Artemis flight.
It is supposed to fly through the first part of the gateway station and uses a larger version of SLS called Block 1B with payload capacity. It also features a spaceship with rendezvous and moon landing. Artemis v Mission should be the first flight to use Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Lander instead of the spacecraft.
NASA will need to run about a year’s worth of tests and add work after Bechtel handed it in 2026.
The ML2 Project, which was originally a $383 million contract in 2019, was the original delivery date in 2023. Announced in August 2024, the NASA Auditor’s Office said it had already cost more than $1 billion as delivery dates were pushed in the second half of 2026.
This is part of the increased costs and delays associated with all aspects of the Artemis program. In 2023, OIG said by the time Artemis III flew, the program would cost more than $93 billion since it was first announced in 2012.
Original issue: 22 July 2025 6am EDT
