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The '''Space Launch System''' ('''SLS''') is an American [[Super heavy-lift launch vehicle|super heavy-lift]] [[Expendable launch system|expendable launch vehicle]] developed by [[NASA]] starting in 2011. As of 16 November, it's the most powerful rocket to launch succesfully, with 8.8 million pounds of thrust.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gebhardt |first=Chris |last2=Burghardt |first2=Thomas |date=2022-11-16 |title=SLS makes successful debut flight, sending Artemis I to the Moon |url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2022/11/artemis-i-launch-nov/ |access-date=2022-11-19 |website=NASASpaceFlight.com |language=en-US}}</ref> The first launch, designated [[Artemis 1]], occurred on November 16, 2022, from [[Kennedy Space Center]].<ref name="nasa-blog-20221108"/> It replaces the [[Ares I]] and [[Ares V]] launch vehicles, which were cancelled along with the rest of the [[Constellation program]], a previous program aimed to return to the Moon.<ref name="senatebill" /><ref name="SFN20110331" /><ref name="SR-20131125" /> The SLS is the successor to the retired [[Space Shuttle]], and the primary launch vehicle of NASA's [[deep space exploration]] plans through the 2020s. The SLS has the highest payload capacity of any currently operational launch vehicle and the third-highest capacity of any rocket ever to reach orbit, trailing the [[Energia (rocket)|Energia]] and [[Saturn V]].<ref name="NASA-20180102" /><ref name="IFL-2014.8" /><ref name="AS-201410" /> Crewed lunar flights are planned as part of the [[Artemis program]], leading to a possible [[human mission to Mars]].<ref name="ARS-201703"/><ref name="nsf-20170406"/> The SLS is being developed in three major phases with increasing capabilities: Block 1, Block 1B, and Block 2.<ref name="NASA 2018 Update"/> {{As of|2019|8|}}, SLS Block 1 launch vehicles are to launch the first three Artemis missions and<ref name="NASA-20190815" /> five subsequent SLS flights are planned to use Block 1B, after which all flights will use Block 2.<ref name="ASG-2014"/><ref name="nsf-20170406"/><ref name="NASA-20170512"/>
The SLS was explicitly designed to launch the deep space [[Orion (spacecraft)|Orion spacecraft]] and make use of the [[Exploration Ground Systems|ground operations and launch facilities]] at NASA's [[Kennedy Space Center]] in [[Florida]]. Artemis is projected to use at most one SLS each year until at least 2030.<ref name="Artemis timeline"/> SLS is launched exclusively from [[Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B|LC-39B]] at the Kennedy Space Center.
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