Apollo 17 in December 1972 was NASA’s final Project Apollo manned lunar mission. On April 1, 2026, following lengthy delays, the agency returned to manned lunar spaceflight with Artemis II, a mission similar to Apollo 8 in December 1968, which marked the first time that humans ventured beyond Earth orbit. Three railroads—Union Pacific, Norfolk Southern and Florida East Coast—transported essential Artemis II rocket components to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fla.If all goes as planned, four astronauts will reach the Moon (though not enter lunar orbit as Apollo 8 did), marking the first crewed mission on NASA’s path toward establishing “a sustained lunar presence.” The mission is historic in that it will be the furthest that human beings have ever traveled into space—4,700 miles beyond the dark side of the moon, as they loop around it in a ”free return trajectory.”
“This 10-day mission will not only test NASA’s pioneering deep space exploration technologies, but it will also lay the foundation for future lunar surface missions,” NASA noted in September 2023. “This mission aims to achieve historic milestones, including landing the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon.”
UP, NS and FEC joined forces to transport Artemis II SLS booster rocketsfor aeronautics and defense contractor Northrop Grumman. The cross-country rail move took approximately six days, commencing Sept. 19, 2023 on the UP from Corinne, Utah and concluding Sept. 25, 2023 at Jay-Jay Siding, where the FEC main line connects with the NASA Railroad, in Mims, Fla. UP no. 1943, “The Spirit of the Union Pacific,” led the consist on UP territory.
The train traveled through 11 states: Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and Florida. NS took charge of the special consist in Memphis, Tenn. On the head end: NS No. 6920, the “Veterans Engine,” which “honors the brave men and women who put everything on the line to protect our freedom and enable us to chase our dreams in space,” NS said.
“The arrival of the SLS solid rocket booster motor segments is an important turning point as NASA and our Artemis partners begin readying for stacking and launch preparations for Artemis II,” said Amit Kshatriya, Deputy Associate Administrator for the Moon to Mars Program Office at NASA Headquarters, in September 2023 “Fully stacked, these boosters for NASA’s SLS rocket [providing 8.8 million pounds of thrust] are the largest, most powerful ever built for spaceflight and will help send the first astronauts around the Moon in more than 50 years.”
“This safe and successful trip is a testament to the incredible dedication and meticulous planning that went into making it a reality,” said former NS Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Paul Duncan in September 2023. “Over the past nine months, the synergy among Northrop Grumman, Norfolk Southern’s Marketing, Transportation and Operations, and Union Pacific and the Florida East Coast Railway has been nothing short of extraordinary. It showcases the power of collaboration and precision in logistics.”
“We appreciate Northrop Grumman and NASA for trusting us with their business, and we look forward to continuing to provide safe, reliable transportation solutions for our customers and our country,” said NS Chief Marketing Officer Ed Elkins in September 2023.
Artemis II is the second scheduled mission of NASA’s Artemis program and the first scheduled crewed mission of NASA’s Orion spacecraft, originally planned to be launched in November 2024 but delayed until April 1, 2026. Four astronauts will perform a flyby of the Moon, traveling further from Earth than any humans have ever gone—4,700 miles beyond the dark side of the Moon, and return to Earth via a free-return trajectory. Artemis II is the first crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972. The mission is also the first crewed launch from Launch Complex 39B of the Kennedy Space Center since STS-116 in 2006.
