Space Launch System

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 in operation. 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 SLS launch was the uncrewed Artemis 1, which took place on 16 November 2022 after a delay of more than six years.

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 and RS-25 first stage engines. 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 non-competitive 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, comprising extended Space Shuttle boosters developed for Ares I 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. After the first four flights, NASA plans to transfer production and launch operations of SLS to Deep Space Transport LLC, a joint venture between Boeing and Northrop Grumman.

Orion Spacecraft

Orion (officially Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle or Orion MPCV) is a partially reusable crewed spacecraft used in NASA's Artemis program. The spacecraft consists of a Crew Module (CM) space capsule designed by Lockheed Martin and the European Service Module (ESM) manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space. Capable of supporting a crew of six beyond low Earth orbit, Orion can last up to 21 days undocked and up to six months docked. It is equipped with solar panels, an automated docking system, and glass cockpit interfaces modeled after those used in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. A single AJ10 engine provides the spacecraft's primary propulsion, while eight R-4D-11 engines, and six pods of custom reaction control system engines developed by Airbus, provide the spacecraft's secondary propulsion. Although compatible with other launch vehicles, Orion is primarily intended to launch atop a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, with a tower launch escape system.

Artemis I

Artemis 1[5] (originalmente conhecido como Missão de Exploração-1 ou EM-1 até a introdução do programa Artemis, em 2019, quando foi renomeado) foi o primeiro voo do Space Launch System (SLS) e o segundo voo planejado da nave espacial Orion. O lançamento ocorreu no Complexo 39 de lançamento do Centro Espacial Kennedy, sob administração da NASA, em 16 de novembro de 2022.[6][7] Foi planejado que a missão durasse 25 dias.[8]