OVERVIEW
Space Launch System (SLS)
NASA’s heavy-lift launcher for Artemis and missions beyond low Earth orbit.
LauncherSpace Launch System (SLS)
Contents
living encyclopedia entry4 sections · 1 images · 1 sources · 1 linksupdated · 6 Sept 2026#space-launch-system-sls#vehicles
The Space Launch System, or SLS, is NASA’s heavy-lift launcher developed as the launch system for Orion spacecraft and the Artemis lunar programme. The rocket combines a core stage, solid rocket boosters, and a mission-dependent upper stage.
Artemis I was the first integrated test mission of SLS and Orion. Launch success is only one part of the system: lunar expeditions require the launcher, spacecraft, navigation, communications, ground infrastructure, and other Artemis architecture elements to work together.
KEY CONTEXT
- SLS first launched on the uncrewed Artemis I mission.
- It sends the Orion spacecraft on a trajectory toward the Moon.
- SLS is designed as a heavy-lift launcher for missions beyond LEO.
SOURCES & FURTHER READINGlast verified · 6 September 2026
◉ NASA photography — public domain✦ AI illustration — marked, generated from sourcesarticle text — CC-BY-SA
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