This article is about the NASA rocket family. For the similarly-named US Air Force project of the 1960s, see Space Launching System. For Turkey's UFS satellite launcher, see Space Launch System (Turkey). For the general topic, see space launcher.
Space Launch System
SLS Block 1 with the Orion spacecraft launching from Pad 39B
Function
Super heavy-lift launch vehicle
Manufacturer
Aerojet Rocketdyne Northrop Grumman Boeing United Launch Alliance
Country of origin
United States
Project cost
US$23.8 billion nominal[1]
Cost per launch
Over US$2 billion excluding development (estimate) [note 1][2][3]: 23–24 [4][1]
Cost per year
US$2.555 billion for FY 2021[5]
Size
Height
Block 1 Crew: 322 ft (98 m) Block 2 Cargo: 365 ft (111 m)
Diameter
27.6 ft (8.4 m), Core stage [6] 16.7 ft (5.1 m), ICPS [7]
Mass
5,750,000 lb (2,610 t)[8]
Stages
2.5
Maximum thrust
39,000,000 N (39 MN; 4,000 tf; 8,800,000 lbf) (Total first stage thrust.)[9]
Capacity
Payload to LEO [note 2]
Mass
Block 1: 209,000 lb (95 t)[11]
Block 1B: 231,000 lb (105 t)[12][13]
Block 2: 290,000 lb (130 t)[14]
Payload to trans-lunar injection
Mass
Block 1: > 59,500 lb (27 t)[15][16]
Block 1B Crew: 83,700 lb (38 t)
Block 1B Cargo: 92,500 lb (42 t)
Block 2 Crew: > 94,700 lb (43 t)
Block 2 Cargo: > 101,400 lb (46 t)
Associated rockets
Based on
Ares V
Space Shuttle
Delta IV
Comparable
Energia
N1
Saturn V
Falcon Heavy
Starship
Long March 9
Launch history
Status
Active
Launch sites
Kennedy Space Center, LC-39B
Total launches
1
Success(es)
1
First flight
16 November 2022, 1:47:44 am EST (6:47:44 am UTC)[17]
Sea level: 366 s (3.59 km/s)[21] Vacuum: 452 s (4.43 km/s)[21]
Burn time
480 seconds
Propellant
LH2 / LOX
Second stage (Block 1) – ICPS
Height
45 ft (13.7 m)[22]
Diameter
16 ft (5 m) (LH2 tank) 10 ft (3.2 m) (LOX tank)[23]
Empty mass
3,490 kg (7,690 lb)[24]
Gross mass
32,066 kg (70,693 lb)
Powered by
1 RL10B-2/C-2
Maximum thrust
24,800 lbf (110.1 kN)
Specific impulse
465.5 s (4.565 km/s)[25]
Burn time
1125 seconds
Propellant
LH2 / LOX
Second stage (Block 1B, Block 2) – Exploration Upper Stage
Height
57 ft (17.3 m)[24]
Diameter
28 ft (8.4 m) (LH2 tank) 18 ft (5.5 m) (LOX tank)[26]
Powered by
4 RL10C-3, later 4 RL10C-X
Maximum thrust
91,500 lbf (407.2 kN)
Burn time
350 seconds (LEO ascent)
925 seconds (TLI burn)
Propellant
LH2 / LOX
[edit on Wikidata]
The Space Launch System (SLS) is an American super heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle used by NASA. As the primary launch vehicle of the Artemis Moon landing program, SLS is designed to launch the crewed Orion spacecraft on a trans-lunar trajectory. The first SLS launch was the uncrewed Artemis 1, which took place on 16 November 2022.[27][17]
Development of SLS began in 2011, as a replacement for the retired Space Shuttle as well as the cancelled Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles.[28][29][30] As a Shuttle-derived vehicle, the SLS reuses hardware from the Shuttle program, including the solid rocket boosters and RS-25 first stage engines. A Congressionally mandated late 2016 launch was delayed by nearly 6 years.[31]
All Space Launch System flights are launched from Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The first three SLS flights use the Block 1 configuration, comprising a core stage, extended Space Shuttle boosters developed for Ares I and the ICPS upper stage. An improved Block 1B configuration, with the Exploration Upper Stage, is planned to debut on the fourth flight; a further improved Block 2 configuration featuring new solid rocket boosters is planned to debut on the ninth flight.[32][33][34][35][11] After the launch of Artemis 4, NASA plans to transfer production and launch operations of SLS to Deep Space Transport LLC, a joint venture between Boeing and Northrop Grumman.[36]
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^NASA (27 October 2021). "Space Launch System Core Stage". nasa.gov. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
^NASA (18 November 2021). "Space Launch System Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS)". nasa.gov. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
^"SLS October 2015 Fact Sheet" (PDF).
^NASA's Space Launch System Reference Guide v2.0 NASA pub. SLS-4071 NP-2022-08-65-MSFC. Page 5. August, 2022. Retrieved 2023-04-21.
^"2018 draft factsheet of SLS capabilities" (PDF). NASA. 20 August 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
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^"1 year down, a galaxy to go". Boeing. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
^Gebhardt, Chris; Burghardt, Thomas (16 November 2022). "SLS makes successful debut flight, sending Artemis I to the Moon". NASASpaceFlight.com. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
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^Potter, Sean Sean (27 July 2022). "NASA Prepares for Space Launch System Rocket Services Contract". NASA. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
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