The Space Launch System (SLS) is an American super heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle developed by NASA. As of 2022, SLS has the highest payload capacity of any rocket in operational service, as well as the greatest liftoff thrust of any rocket. 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 uncrewed launch, Artemis 1, took place on 16 November 2022.

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. As a Shuttle-derived vehicle, the Space Launch System reuses hardware from the Space Shuttle program, including the solid rocket boosters, RS-25 first stage engines, and various tooling used to construct the vehicle. An original flight date of late 2016 was delayed by nearly 6 years. The SLS program has attracted criticism for such delays, high cost, and its non-competitive nature in the use of Space Shuttle components and contractors.

All Space Launch System flights are launched from LC-39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The first three SLS flights use the Block 1 configuration, consisting of reused Space Shuttle boosters and the ICPS upper stage. An improved Block 1B configuration, with the EUS 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.

More Info: www.nasa.gov