NASAs Space Launch System: Launch Capability for Lunar Exploration and Transformative Science

Excitement is building for the first launch of NASAs Space Launch System (SLS), a unique exploration asset for the agencys Artemis lunar program as well as for a new generation of science missions. SLS is designed for an array of missions beyond Earths orbit. The flexible system, which can be configured for Orion, cargo or Orion with co-manifested payload missions, offers high escape velocities to send more mass to deep space destinations. When configured with an 8.4 m-diameter fairing, SLS offers unmatched payload volume for human exploration and science missions. The initial Block 1 variant will insert at least 26 metric tons (t) to trans-lunar injection (TLI) and the more powerful Block 1B vehicle will launch 34-37 t to TLI using a new-development upper stage. Much of the initial SLS Block 1 vehicle is complete, including the upper stage and payload section, the core stage, engines and the solid rocket boosters. The first mission, Artemis I, launching from modernized and upgraded facilities at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), will be an uncrewed test flight of SLS, Orion and ground processing, with a primary objective of testing Orions heat shield at lunar re-entry velocity. Artemis I will have accommodations for 13 6U CubeSat payloads. These CubeSat missions will be deployed along the upper stage disposal trajectory after Orion separates from the vehicle. A rare opportunity for CubeSats to be deployed beyond low Earth orbit (LEO), Artemis I CubeSat missions range from searching for hydrogen and other volatiles on the lunar South Pole to studying the acceleration mechanisms of solar and interplanetary particles from a heliocentric trajectory. With manufacturing of the initial vehicle complete, fabrication and procurement is progressing for the second flight of SLS and Orion, Artemis II. Also an SLS Block 1 and Orion flight launching from KSC, Artemis II will mark the return of American astronauts to deep space with a lunar flyby-free return trajectory mission. With the Artemis III flight, NASA has the goal to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon. Infrastructure beyond SLS will be required for this effort, including elements of the lunar Gateway as well as lunar rovers, landers and additional commercially supplied launch services. SLS, as the only vehicle with the capability to lift 26 t of mass to TLI in its initial Block 1 variant, will remain a key component of this new-era exploration program. Future variants Block 1B and Block 2 will lift 34-45 t to TLI. This paper will discuss the status of testing and integration for the Artemis I vehicle, manufacturing progress for the second vehicle and the manifest outlook for primary, co-manifested and secondary payloads in the current deep space exploration environment

NASAs Space Launch System: Enabling a New Generation of Lunar Exploration

Following two decades of operational experience in low-Earth orbit (LEO), NASA has turned its focus once again to deep space exploration. The Agency is building the Space Launch System (SLS) to take astronauts and cargo to the Moon and send robotic spacecraft deep into the solar system. Offering unmatched performance, departure energy and payload capacity, SLS is designed to evolve into progressively more powerful configurations, enabling a new generation of human exploration of the Moon in preparation for future missions to Mars. The first build of the Block 1 vehicle is nearly complete for Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), the first integrated flight of SLS and the Orion crew vehicle. EM-1 will send an uncrewed Orion to a distant retrograde lunar orbit in order to test and verify new systems, and along the way will deploy 13 6U-class CubeSats in deep space along the upper stage disposal trajectory after separation from Orion. The Agencys current plans call for the first three missions on the SLS manifest to utilize the Block 1 vehicle in crew and cargo configurations. A more powerful evolved vehicle, Block 1B, will provide additional mass and volume performance using a new Exploration Upper Stage (EUS). Block 1B will lift 34 to 40 metric tons (t) to trans-lunar injection (TLI), depending on crew or cargo configuration. The Block 1B crew configuration will offer as much payload volume as industry-standard 5 m-diameter fairings to co-manifested payloads in a Universal Stage Adapter (USA). The Block 1B cargo variant will accommodate 8.4 meter-diameter fairings in 62.7-foot (19.1 meter) or 90-foot (27.4 meter) lengths. Adding smallsat secondary payloads to ride along with primary and co-manifested payloads on future flights may be possible, depending on mass margins. Leveraging a flight-proven, well-understood propulsion system, SLSs flexible architecture, unmatched performance and expansive payload accommodations will open exciting new mission possibilities in deep space. Launches of habitat modules for NASAs new Gateway lunar outpost, the next generation of robotic spacecraft to the far reaches of the solar system, large-aperture deep space telescopes, probes to interstellar space and the return of astronauts to the Moon are all possible with SLS

NASA's Space Launch System: An Enabling Capability for Discovery

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Space Launch System (SLS) Program, managed at the Marshall Space Flight Center, is making progress toward delivering a new capability for human spaceflight and scientific missions beyond Earth orbit. Developed with the goals of safety, affordability, and sustainability in mind, the SLS rocket will launch the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), equipment, supplies, and major science missions for exploration and discovery. Making its first uncrewed test flight in 2017 and its first crewed flight in 2021, the SLS will evolve into the most powerful launch vehicle ever flown, capable of supporting human missions into deep space and to Mars. This paper will summarize the planned capabilities of the vehicle, the progress the SLS Program has made in the years since the Agency formally announced its architecture in September 2011, and the path the program is following to reach the launch pad in 2017 and then to evolve the 70 metric ton (t) initial lift capability to 130 t lift capability. The paper will outline the milestones the program has already reached, from developmental milestones such as the manufacture of the first flight hardware and recordbreaking engine testing, to life-cycle milestones such as the vehicle's Preliminary Design Review in the summer of 2013. The paper will also discuss the remaining challenges in both delivering the 70 t vehicle and in evolving its capabilities to the 130 t vehicle, and how the program plans to accomplish these goals. In addition, this paper will demonstrate how the Space Launch System is being designed to enable or enhance not only human exploration missions, but robotic scientific missions as well. Because of its unique launch capabilities, SLS will support simplifying spacecraft complexity, provide improved mass margins and radiation mitigation, and reduce mission durations. These capabilities offer attractive advantages for ambitious science missions by reducing infrastructure requirements, cost, and schedule. A traditional baseline approach for a mission to investigate the Jovian system would require a complicated trajectory with several gravity-assist planetary fly-bys to achieve the necessary outbound velocity. The SLS rocket, offering significantly higher C3 energies, can more quickly and effectively take the mission directly to its destination, providing scientific results sooner and at lower operational cost. The SLS rocket will launch payloads of unprecedented mass and volume, such as "monolithic" telescopes and in-space infrastructure, and will revolutionize science mission planning and design for years to come. As this paper will explain, SLS is making measurable progress toward becoming a global infrastructure asset for robotic and human scouts of all nations by harnessing business and technological innovations to deliver sustainable solutions for space exploration

NASA's Space Launch System: A Transformative Capability for Deep Space Missions

Already making substantial progress toward its first launches, NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) exploration-class launch vehicle presents game-changing new opportunities in spaceflight, enabling human exploration of deep space, as well as a variety of missions and mission profiles that are currently impossible. Today, the initial configuration of SLS, able to deliver more than 70 metric tons of payload to low Earth orbit (LEO), is well into final production and testing ahead of its planned first flight, which will send NASAs new Orion crew vehicle around the moon and will deploy 13 CubeSats, representing multiple disciplines, into deep space. At the same time, production work is already underway toward the more-capable Block 1B configuration, planned to debut on the second flight of SLS, and capable of lofting 105 tons to LEO or of co-manifesting large exploration systems with Orion on launches to the lunar vicinity. Progress being made on the vehicle for that second flight includes initial welding of its core stage and testing of one of its engines, as well as development of new elements such as the powerful Exploration Upper Stage and the Universal Stage Adapter payload bay. Ultimately, SLS will evolve to a configuration capable of delivering more than 130 tons to LEO to support humans missions to Mars. In order to enable human deep-space exploration, SLS provides unrivaled mass, volume, and departure energy for payloads, offering numerous benefits for a variety of other missions. For robotic science probes to the outer solar system, for example, SLS can cut transit times to less than half that of currently available vehicles or substantially increased spacecraft mass. In the field of astrophysics, SLS high payload volume, in the form of payload fairings with a diameter of up to 10 meters, creates the opportunity for launch of large-aperture telescopes providing an unprecedented look at our universe. This presentation will give an overview of SLS capabilities and its current status, and discuss the vehicles potential for human exploration of deep space and other game-changing utilization opportunities

NASA's Space Launch System: Moving Toward the Launch Pad

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Space Launch System (SLS) Program, managed at the Marshall Space Flight Center, is making progress toward delivering a new capability for human space flight and scientific missions beyond Earth orbit. Developed with the goals of safety, affordability, and sustainability in mind, the SLS rocket will launch the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), equipment, supplies, and major science missions for exploration and discovery. Supporting Orion's first autonomous flight to lunar orbit and back in 2017 and its first crewed flight in 2021, the SLS will evolve into the most powerful launch vehicle ever flown, via an upgrade approach that will provide building blocks for future space exploration and development. NASA is working to develop this new capability in an austere economic climate, a fact which has inspired the SLS team to find innovative solutions to the challenges of designing, developing, fielding, and operating the largest rocket in history. This paper will summarize the planned capabilities of the vehicle, the progress the SLS program has made in the 2 years since the Agency formally announced its architecture in September 2011, and the path the program is following to reach the launch pad in 2017 and then to evolve the 70 metric ton (t) initial lift capability to 130-t lift capability. The paper will explain how, to meet the challenge of a flat funding curve, an architecture was chosen which combines the use and enhancement of legacy systems and technology with strategic new development projects that will evolve the capabilities of the launch vehicle. This approach reduces the time and cost of delivering the initial 70 t Block 1 vehicle, and reduces the number of parallel development investments required to deliver the evolved version of the vehicle. The paper will outline the milestones the program has already reached, from developmental milestones such as the manufacture of the first flight hardware and the record-breaking testing of the J-2X engine, to life-cycle milestones such as the vehicle's Preliminary Design Review. The paper will also discuss the remaining challenges in both delivering the 70 t vehicle and in evolving its capabilities to the 130 t vehicle, and how the program plans to accomplish these goals. As this paper will explain, SLS is making measurable progress toward becoming a global infrastructure asset for robotic and human scouts of all nations by harnessing business and technological innovations to deliver sustainable solutions for space exploratio

NASA's Space Launch System: One Vehicle, Many Destinations

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Space Launch System (SLS) Program, managed at the Marshall Space Flight Center, is making progress toward delivering a new capability for exploration beyond Earth orbit (BEO). Developed with the goals of safety, affordability and sustainability in mind, SLS will start with 10 percent more thrust than the Saturn V rocket that launched astronauts to the Moon 40 years ago. From there it will evolve into the most powerful launch vehicle ever flown, via an upgrade approach that will provide building blocks for future space exploration and development. The International Space Exploration Coordination Group, representing 12 of the world's space agencies, has worked together to create the Global Exploration Roadmap, which outlines paths towards a human landing on Mars, beginning with capability-demonstrating missions to the Moon or an asteroid. The Roadmap and corresponding NASA research outline the requirements for reference missions for all three destinations. This paper will explore the requirements needed for missions to BEO destinations, and the capability of SLS to meet those requirements and enable those missions. It will explain how NASA will execute this development within flat budgetary guidelines by using existing engines assets and heritage technology, from the initial 70 metric ton (t) lift capability through a block upgrade approach to an evolved 130-t capability. The SLS will offer a robust way to transport international crews and the air, water, food, and equipment they would need for extended trips to asteroids, the Moon, and Mars. In addition, this paper will detail SLS's capability to support missions beyond the human exploration roadmap, including robotic precursor missions to other worlds or uniquely high-mass space operation facilities in Earth orbit. As this paper will explain, the SLS provides game-changing mass and volume lift capability that makes it enhancing or enabling for a variety of unprecedented human and robotic missions

Accommodations for Secondary Payloads in NASA's Space Launch System

NASA's new heavy-lift launch vehicle, the Space Launch System (SLS), is moving closer to its planned 2019 launch, with the in-space stage and spacecraft adapters complete and all other major elements of the rocket manufactured and currently being outfitted for flight. Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), the first flight of SLS and the new Orion crew vehicle, will verify and validate new systems and provide an unparalleled opportunity for 13 6U CubeSat-class payloads to be released into deep space. Payloads are being developed by NASA, industry, international and academic partners and were selected for the EM-1 flight to address strategic knowledge gaps in the agency's plans for human deep space exploration. Destinations range from the lunar surface to an asteroid to an orbit around the Earth-moon L2 libration point. Missions include studying the effects of space radiation on a living organism (yeast), landing the smallest lander to date on the moon, and searching for water in permanently shaded lunar craters. Propulsion technology demonstrations include solar sails, use of inert water to carry out lunar gravity assist maneuvers, and use of new "green" chemical propellants. SLS employs an evolutionary design approach, with an initial capability of at least 26 metric tons (t) to trans-lunar injection (TLI). The later Block 1B configuration, which will become the Agency's workhorse launch vehicle into the 2020s, will lift at least 34 t to TLI in its crew configuration and at least 37 t in the cargo configuration. In addition to greater lift capability, Block 1B will also offer larger payload volume than Block 1 for both co-manifested and secondary payloads. In Block 1B, various combinations of 6U, 12U and 27U payloads may be accommodated in the vehicle's stage adapter. Opportunities for deep space research once out of reach for small science payloads will be within reach, opening many possibilities for exciting new technology demonstrations and scientific missions. This paper will provide an overview of the capabilities and the status of the Block 1 vehicle, with particular emphasis on the secondary payload accommodations and the deployment system. Brief descriptions of the 13 6U EM-1 payloads will be included. In addition, a discussion of the payload developers' responsibilities and the Space Launch System Program's roles and responsibilities in accommodating these and future payloads will be included. Finally, the author will look ahead to SLS Block 1B and missions beyond EM-1 and the opportunities for 6U, 12U and 27U CubeSats

NASA's Space Launch System: An Evolving Capability for Exploration

Designed to meet the stringent requirements of human exploration missions into deep space and to Mars, NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) vehicle represents a unique new launch capability opening new opportunities for mission design. NASA is working to identify new ways to use SLS to enable new missions or mission profiles. In its initial Block 1 configuration, capable of launching 70 metric tons (t) to low Earth orbit (LEO), SLS is capable of not only propelling the Orion crew vehicle into cislunar space, but also delivering small satellites to deep space destinations. The evolved configurations of SLS, including both the 105 t Block 1B and the 130 t Block 2, offer opportunities for launching co-manifested payloads and a new class of secondary payloads with the Orion crew vehicle, and also offer the capability to carry 8.4- or 10-m payload fairings, larger than any contemporary launch vehicle, delivering unmatched mass-lift capability, payload volume, and C3

NASA's Space Launch System: SmallSat Deployment to Deep Space

Leveraging the significant capability it offers for human exploration and flagship science missions, NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) also provides a unique opportunity for lower-cost deep-space science in the form of small-satellite secondary payloads. Current plans call for such opportunities to begin with the rocket's first flight; a launch of the vehicle's Block 1 configuration, capable of delivering 70 metric tons (t) to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), which will send the Orion crew vehicle around the moon and return it to Earth. On that flight, SLS will also deploy 13 CubeSat-class payloads to deep-space destinations. These secondary payloads will include not only NASA research, but also spacecraft from industry and international partners and academia. The payloads also represent a variety of disciplines including, but not limited to, studies of the moon, Earth, sun, and asteroids. While the SLS Program is making significant progress toward that first launch, preparations are already under way for the second, which will see the booster evolve to its more-capable Block 1B configuration, able to deliver 105t to LEO. That configuration will have the capability to carry large payloads co-manifested with the Orion spacecraft, or to utilize an 8.4-meter (m) fairing to carry payloads several times larger than are currently possible. The Block 1B vehicle will be the workhorse of the Proving Ground phase of NASA's deep-space exploration plans, developing and testing the systems and capabilities necessary for human missions into deep space and ultimately to Mars. Ultimately, the vehicle will evolve to its full Block 2 configuration, with a LEO capability of 130 metric tons. Both the Block 1B and Block 2 versions of the vehicle will be able to carry larger secondary payloads than the Block 1 configuration, creating even more opportunities for affordable scientific exploration of deep space. This paper will outline the progress being made toward flying smallsats on the first flight of SLS, and discuss future opportunities for smallsats on subsequent flights

NASA's Space Launch System: Affordability for Sustainability

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Space Launch System (SLS) Program, managed at the Marshall Space Flight Center, is charged with delivering a new capability for human exploration beyond Earth orbit in an austere economic climate. But the SLS value is clear and codified in United States (U.S.) budget law. The SLS Program knows that affordability is the key to sustainability and will provide an overview of initiatives designed to fit within the funding guidelines by using existing engine assets and hardware now in testing to meet a first launch by 2017 within the projected budget. It also has a long-range plan to keep the budget flat, yet evolve the 70-tonne (t) initial lift capability to 130-t lift capability after the first two flights. To achieve the evolved configuration, advanced technologies must offer appropriate return on investment to be selected through the competitive process. For context, the SLS will be larger than the Saturn V that took 12 men on 6 trips for a total of 11 days on the lunar surface some 40 years ago. Astronauts train for long-duration voyages on platforms such as the International Space Station, but have not had transportation to go beyond Earth orbit in modern times, until now. To arrive at the launch vehicle concept, the SLS Program conducted internal engineering and business studies that have been externally validated by industry and reviewed by independent assessment panels. In parallel with SLS concept studies, NASA is now refining its mission manifest, guided by U.S. space policy and the Global Exploration Roadmap, which reflects the mutual goals of a dozen member nations. This mission planning will converge with a flexible heavy-lift rocket that can carry international crews and the air, water, food, and equipment they need for extended trips to asteroids and Mars. In addition, the SLS capability will accommodate very large science instruments and other payloads, using a series of modular fairings and adapters to configure the rocket for the mission. The SLS affordability plan includes streamlining interfaces, applying risk-based insight into contracted work, centralizing systems engineering and integration, and nurturing a learning culture where the question Why? is often asked and the answer "Because we've always done it that way" is rarely heard. The SLS Program will deliver affordable space transportation solutions for the Orion Multi-Purpose Cargo Vehicle s first autonomous certification flight in 2017, followed by a crewed flight in 2021. As this briefing will show, the SLS will offer a global infrastructure asset for robotic and human scouts of all nations