Launch vehicle
SLS Block 1
NASA's deep-space heavy lifter for the Artemis program. Two five-segment solid boosters and four shuttle-heritage RS-25 engines on an 8.4-meter hydrogen core push Orion toward the Moon; the ICPS upper stage finishes trans-lunar injection.
- Height
- 98 m / 322 ft
- Diameter
- 8.4 m / 27.6 ft
- Liftoff mass
- 2,557 t
- Liftoff thrust
- 36,440 kN
- Stages
- 3
- Payload to LEO · rated
- 95 t
- Operator
- NASA · Boeing / Northrop Grumman
- First flight
- 2022
- Status
- operational
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Performance
Payload capacity, solved by the engine
Ideal staged-Δv model (rocket equation, Rust) against standard surface-to-destination budgets that include typical gravity/drag/steering losses. First-order — not a flight manifest.
LEO
…
Low Earth orbit (~9.4 km/s incl. losses)
GTO
…
Geostationary transfer (LEO + 2.44)
GEO
…
Direct to geostationary (LEO + 3.9)
Moon
…
Trans-lunar injection (LEO + 3.12)
Mars
…
Trans-Mars injection (LEO + 3.6)
Stage 1 · ×2 parallel
Solid boosters ×2
- Length
- 54 m
- Diameter
- 3.7 m
- Dry mass
- 200 t
- Propellant
- 1,262 t
- Engines
- 2× 5-segment SRB
- Thrust
- 29,000 kN
- Isp (vacuum)
- 268 s
Stage 2
Core stage
- Length
- 64.6 m
- Diameter
- 8.4 m
- Dry mass
- 85.3 t
- Propellant
- 979 t
- Engines
- 4× RS-25
- Thrust
- 7,440 kN
- Isp (vacuum)
- 452 s
Stage 3
ICPS
- Length
- 13.7 m
- Diameter
- 5.1 m
- Dry mass
- 3.5 t
- Propellant
- 27 t
- Engines
- 1× RL10B-2
- Thrust
- 110 kN
- Isp (vacuum)
- 462 s
Now put it on a trajectory
Every number on this page came out of the same Rust engine that propagates your orbits. Load this vehicle on the Flight Deck, plan a transfer, and see if your mission closes.