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Space Launch System
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The Space Launch System (SLS) is an American super heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle used by NASA. As the primary launch vehicle for the Artemis program, SLS is designed to send the crewed Orion spacecraft on trans-lunar injection trajectories for missions to the Moon. The rocket first launched on 16 November 2022, carrying the uncrewed Artemis I mission. Its first crewed launch was for the Artemis II lunar flyby on 1 April 2026, becoming the second launch vehicle to carry humans beyond low Earth orbit (after Saturn V). All SLS launches take place from Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The initial missions use the Block 1 configuration, consisting of the core stage, extended Space Shuttle boosters developed for Ares I and the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) as an upper stage. |
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