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 (and so far only) SLS launch was the uncrewed Artemis I, which took place on 16 November 2022.

Oct 7, 2024 · The SLS Reference Guide is the go-to source for information on the SLS rocket’s initial Block 1 configuration for NASA’s early Artemis missions, including its design, capabilities, major components, and manufacturing, testing, assembly, and launch activities. This document was initially prepared for Artemis I launch activities.

Dec 5, 2024 · Artemis II builds on the success of the uncrewed Artemis I in 2022, and will demonstrate a broad range of capabilities needed on deep space missions. The Artemis II flight test will be NASA’s first mission with crew aboard the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft and will pave the way to land the first woman on the Moon on ...

1 day ago · The SLS rocket plays a key role in the Artemis moon program, the agency said. NASA responded to news that Boeing aims to lay off up to 400 workers from its Space Launch System program.

1 day ago · Boeing informed its employees working on NASA's Artemis program that it was preparing for as many as 400 layoffs connected to the giant rocket under development amid possible shakeups to the ...

Dec 13, 2021 · Artemis I, the first integrated flight of SLS and Orion, uses the Block 1 configuration, which stands 322 feet, taller than the Statue of Liberty, and weighs 5.75 million lbs. During launch and ascent, SLS will produce 8.8 million lbs. of maximum thrust, 15 percent more thrust than the Saturn V rocket.

During the Artemis II mission, SLS will fly in the Block 1 configuration and launch the first crewed Orion spacecraft on a flight path around the Moon carrying the first female and person of color to lunar orbit! Additional missions are planned with the SLS Block 1B configuration – equipped with the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS). ...

Artemis I, formerly Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), [9] was an uncrewed Moon-orbiting mission that was launched in November 2022. ... 2011 illustration of an SLS launch. Artemis I was outlined by NASA as Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1) in 2012, at which point it was set to launch in 2017 ...

4 days ago · "To align with revisions to the Artemis program and cost expectations, today we informed our Space Launch Systems team of the potential for approximately 400 fewer positions by April 2025," a ...

SLS is a key part of NASA’s Artemis campaign – the agency’s efforts to return humans to Moon. The SLS Program is managed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, as part of the agency’s Moon to Mars office. The launch vehicle produces more maximum thrust than any previous NASA rocket and can send 27 metric