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PROJECTS
Bechtel is proud to partner with NASA in their pursuit to safely send astronauts to the Moon and Mars as part of the agency’s Artemis program. We’re designing, procuring, building, testing, and commissioning Mobile Launcher 2 (ML2) — a bigger, stronger, smarter launch platform that will allow NASA to assemble, transport, service, and launch the largest iteration of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.
With more than 127 years of experience, Bechtel is proud to partner with NASA on a shared mission to turn their vision into reality. Working from Kennedy Space Center, our team is providing project management, architectural and engineering design, technical integration, fabrication, construction, testing, commissioning, and quality control services.
NASA has entrusted Bechtel to deliver this critically important launch platform, which will support the most ambitious human spaceflight missions of this century. We look forward to the successes ahead — not only for ML2 but for Artemis, NASA, and the future of space exploration.
To improve safety and efficiency during construction, the team separated ML2’s assembly between two sites to allow teams to work simultaneously and as close to ground level as possible. While one team assembled the base and tower chair at the ML2 Parksite next to NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building, another team built ML2’s tower modules at the Mod Yard near NASA headquarters at Kennedy Space Center.
This modular approach eliminated unnecessary work at extreme height, decreased risks from overhead loads, and made overall assembly of ML2 more efficient than traditional “stick-built” construction, where structures are assembled piece by piece at a single location.
At the end of 2024, ML2’s lowest-elevation tower module, Mod 4, became the first module to complete the six-mile journey from the Mod Yard to the Parksite — making for a memorable sight as it traveled across Kennedy aboard two self-propelled modular transporters. Stacking Mod 4 onto the base marked the start of ML2’s vertical growth. Over the next six months, ML2 grew 270 feet in height, module by module, reaching its full structural height of 377 feet with the final stacking of Mod 10 on July 2, 2025.
Click on each level to see how ML2’s tower comes together.
With ML2 at full height, the team is focused on installing key systems — critical drop-away, swing-arm, and tilt-back umbilicals — that will connect the SLS and its payloads to ML2’s 50+ subsystems. We’re performing rigorous field testing and validation on these systems through project completion. Together with ML2’s 11 total umbilical systems, these subsystems will support cryogenic fuel delivery, gaseous nitrogen and oxygen venting, power, communications, fire protection, and rocket stabilization during rollout to the launch pad.
Our engineers have developed innovative solutions to integrate these systems within the launcher and design them to withstand extreme launch environments of 2,200 degrees Fahrenheit, blast pressures above 130 psi, and a liftoff thrust of more than 8.9 million pounds. This ensures ML2 is resilient, reliable, and ready for liftoff.
Bechtel’s skilled procurement team has worked closely with suppliers across the U.S. and around the world to secure the steel, supplies, and equipment needed to build the launcher. More than $660 million in procurements have been awarded to over 300 subcontractors and suppliers who have joined Bechtel in supporting NASA and the Artemis program. Materials used to assemble the mobile launcher have been sourced from nearly 40 states, including steel trusses that have traveled from Iowa, Kansas, Utah, Louisiana, and South Carolina. International support has come from suppliers in Brazil and Spain, which provided the cast steel used to build ML2’s tower modules and tower chair.
ML2’s transition into the construction phase of the project highlights Bechtel’s expertise in executing complex construction projects through partnerships with local talent. At peak construction, nearly 650 skilled craft professionals are needed across our construction sites at Kennedy to assemble the launcher. Pipefitters, electricians, ironworkers, plumbers, scaffolders, and heavy equipment operators are some of the experienced craft professionals who are having a hand in sending astronauts to the Moon and Mars during the Artemis program.
Bechtel is at its best when we partner with the local communities where we operate. This includes engaging small- and medium-sized businesses and giving back to the cities where we work and live.
Over 70% of Bechtel’s subcontract work and procurements for ML2 have gone to small business. This includes more than 30 small and diverse businesses located in Florida’s Space Coast. Support for this project ranges from providing engineering services and industrial supplies to manufacturing critical equipment needed to operate the launcher and support the SLS.
Of the 307 total suppliers contracted to support ML2, 214 are small businesses.
Of those small businesses, 65 are women- or veteran-owned.
Small and diverse businesses have netted more than two-thirds of all ML2 subcontract dollars.
Bechtel’s partnerships within the local Space Coast community go beyond helping make our customer’s ambitions a reality. By targeting support toward an array of nonprofits, the ML2 team’s fundraising efforts and charitable contributions have bolstered the missions of key community stakeholders around Kennedy and throughout the state.
A wide network of nonprofits received charitable contributions from the ML2 project and its employees last year. Nearly $60,000 in funding advanced 27 charity programs in the area, with aid geared toward empowering youth, fostering grassroots community building, supporting veterans, protecting Florida wildlife, and much more. The ML2 team is proud to partner with these organizations and support them in their efforts throughout the Space Coast.
