Space Launch System (SLS)

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NASA's expendable super heavy-lift rocket for Artemis, derived from Space Shuttle propulsion rather than from Saturn. In the Block 1 crew configuration it stands about 98 m tall: a core stage with four RS-25 engines — the first flights used refurbished Shuttle main engines — flanked by two five-segment solid rocket boosters, topped by the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage. Liftoff thrust is roughly 8.8 million pounds (39.1 MN), about fifteen per cent more than the Saturn V, and it can send more than 27 tonnes toward the Moon. It first flew on Artemis I in November 2022 and carried its first crew on Artemis II in April 2026. A Block 1B version with the larger Exploration Upper Stage is planned for later missions.

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