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Amentum Leads Successful Artemis II Rollout in Critical Preparation Phase of NASA Launch

Business

Amentum Leads Successful Artemis II Rollout in Critical Preparation Phase of NASA Launch
Business

Business

Amentum Leads Successful Artemis II Rollout in Critical Preparation Phase of NASA Launch

2026-01-19 21:30 Last Updated At:01-20 00:31

CHANTILLY, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan 19, 2026--

Amentum (NYSE: AMTM) led a major milestone for NASA’s Artemis II mission with the successful rollout of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to Launch Complex 39B (LC-39B) at Kennedy Space Center. The rollout marks a key step in final preparations for the crewed Artemis launch. During the mission, the Orion crew capsule will carry four astronauts on an approximately 10-day journey around the Moon and back. It will be propelled by the SLS, the most powerful and capable rocket NASA has ever built.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260119993895/en/

“The successful rollout and preparation of Artemis II is a clear reminder of the responsibility entrusted to our team,” said Mark Walter, president of Amentum’s Engineering & Technology business. “Amentum delivered the engineering expertise and operational discipline that made this milestone possible, ensuring Artemis II’s progress towards launch preparations and advancing our nation’s human space exploration mission.”

During rollout operations, Amentum engineers and technicians played a central role in operating the crawler-transporter, the massive transporter used to move the mobile launch platform with the fully stacked SLS and Orion from the VAB to LC-39B. The multi-hour journey required precise coordination, continuous systems monitoring, and close integration with multiple teams to safely transport NASA’s most powerful rocket.

Under NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) program, Amentum is providing engineering, technicians, and systems integration for Artemis II. Amentum is responsible for maintaining and modernizing ground equipment, integrating and testing launch vehicles, and supporting launch, recovery, and overall operations for Orion and the SLS.

The crawler-transporter is a cornerstone of NASA’s ground infrastructure, designed to carry the SLS and Orion over several miles, including up a slope to the pad surface, at a carefully controlled pace and with extreme precision. Amentum’s role in operating and sustaining the crawler reflects decades of experience in high-consequence ground operations and mission-critical systems at Kennedy Space Center.

Artemis II is scheduled to launch early this year. With the successful rollout, NASA and Amentum have moved to the next major phase of this critical mission, including pad integration activities, final checkouts, and launch readiness activities.

About Amentum

Amentum is a global leader in advanced engineering and innovative technology solutions, trusted by the United States and its allies to address their most significant and complex challenges in science, security and sustainability. Our people apply undaunted curiosity, relentless ambition and boundless imagination to challenge convention and drive progress. Our commitments are underpinned by the belief that safety, collaboration and well-being are integral to success. Headquartered in Chantilly, Virginia, we have approximately 50,000 employees in more than 70 countries across all 7 continents.

Visit us at amentum.com to learn how we advance the future together.

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Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains or incorporates by reference statements by Amentum Holdings, Inc. (the “Company”) that relate to future events and expectations and, as such, constitute “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and other federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements may be characterized by terminology such as “believe,” “project,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “outlook,” “target,” “endeavor,” “seek,” “predict,” “intend,” “strategy,” “plan,” “may,” “could,” “should,” “will,” “would,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will likely result,” or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. All statements, other than historical facts, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the anticipated work and revenue under the awarded contract, and the Company’s objectives, expectations and intentions, applicable legal, economic and regulatory conditions, and any assumptions underlying any of the foregoing, are forward-looking statements.

A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in or implied by these forward-looking statements, including those factors discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including, among others: the occurrence of an accident or safety incident; the ability of the Company to control costs, meet performance requirements or contractual schedules; and other factors set forth under Item 1A, Risk Factors in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 27, 2024, which can be found at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or the Investor Relations portion of our website at www.amentum.com. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise such statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

Artemis II successful rollout. (Photo by Amentum)

Artemis II successful rollout. (Photo by Amentum)

DENVER (AP) — A Frontier Airlines plane hit and killed a pedestrian on the runway of the Denver International Airport during takeoff, airport authorities said, sparking an engine fire and forcing passengers to evacuate.

The plane, on route from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11:19 p.m. on Friday," the airport's official X account wrote.

A spokesperson for the airport said the pedestrian, who jumped a perimeter fence, has died. They said the unidentified person was hit two minutes after entering the airport. The person is not believed to be an airport employee.

“We're stopping on the runway,” the pilot tells the control tower according to the site ATC.com. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”

The pilot tells the air traffic controller they have “231 souls” on board and that an “individual was walking across the runway.”

The air traffic controller responds that they are “rolling the trucks now" before the pilot tells the tower they “have smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.”

Frontier Airlines said in a statement flight 4345 was the one involved in the collision and that “smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff.” It was not clear whether the smoke was linked to the crash with the pedestrian.

“The Airbus A321 was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members,” the airline said. “We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities.”

Passengers were then evacuated via slides and the emergency crew bused them to the terminal. The airport spokesperson said 12 passengers suffered minor injuries and five were taken to local hospitals.

Denver Airport said the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified and that runway 17L, where the incident took place, will remain closed while an investigation is conducted. It is expected to open later today.

The pedestrian death came a day after a Delta Air Lines employee was killed while on the job at the Orlando International Airport. In a statement, the airline said the employee was killed Thursday night without providing details of the incident nor the name of the employee.

“We are focused on extending our full support to family and taking care of our Orlando team during this difficult time,” the airline said. "We are working with local authorities as a full investigation gets underway to determine what occurred.”

FILE - A Frontier Airlines jetliner taxis down a runway for take off from Denver International airport on Nov. 25, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

FILE - A Frontier Airlines jetliner taxis down a runway for take off from Denver International airport on Nov. 25, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

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