The stage measures 213 ft (65 m) long by 28 ft (8.4 m) in diameter and is visually similar to the Space Shuttle external tank. The core stage provides approximately 25% of the vehicle's thrust at liftoff, the rest coming from the solid rocket boosters. It contains the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks for the ascent phase, the forward and aft solid rocket booster attach points, avionics, and the Main Propulsion System (MPS), an assembly of the four RS-25 engines, associated plumbing and hydraulic gimbal actuators, and equipment for autogenous pressurization of the vehicle's tanks. Together with the solid rocket boosters, the core stage is responsible for propelling the upper stage and payload out of the atmosphere to near orbital velocity. Main article: Space Launch System core stage The SLS core stage rolling out of the Michoud Assembly Facility for shipping to Stennis Space Center 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. 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. 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. Īll Space Launch System flights are launched from Launch Complex 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A Congressionally mandated late 2016 launch was delayed by nearly 6 years. As a Shuttle-derived vehicle, the SLS reuses hardware from the Shuttle program, including the solid rocket boosters and RS-25 first stage engines.
ĭevelopment 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. The first SLS launch was the uncrewed Artemis 1, which took place on 16 November 2022.
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 Space Launch System ( SLS) is an American super heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle used by NASA. Second stage (Block 1B, Block 2) – Exploration Upper Stage
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