The rocket that sends Orion toward the Moon.
SLS is NASA's heavy launcher for the Artemis programme. Orion is the spacecraft on top: it carries astronauts and brings them home, while the rocket stages are discarded.
Artemis I in November 2022 tests the system without a crew on a mission around the Moon. The flight checks propulsion, navigation and Orion's return to Earth.
Artemis II launches on 1 April 2026 with four astronauts and returns on 10 April after travelling around the Moon. This mission does not make a lunar landing.
Selected representative missions; crew names belong to the flight shown.
The first SLS launch sends Orion on an uncrewed lunar test mission.
Wiseman, Glover, Koch and Hansen make Artemis's first crewed flight, without landing on the Moon.
Dates follow the days reported by the source agencies, generally in local time; the UTC day can differ. Crews belong to the selected missions, not every flight in the family.
SLS connects the shuttle's engineering legacy with human tests beyond low Earth orbit.
First flight or first test of the family, including unsuccessful or suborbital attempts.
