Boeing people and products have powered giant leaps in human space exploration over the past five decades. Now, with the NASA Artemis program — named after Apollo’s twin sister — Boeing will be part of landing the first woman and first person of color on the moon and the sustainable exploration of more of the lunar surface than ever before. What NASA and its commercial and international partners learn on and around the moon will enable astronauts to take the next giant leap — all the way to Mars. NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) is the technologically advanced, heavy-lift rocket that will get us there.
Boeing is the prime contractor for the design, development, test and production of the launch vehicle core stage and upper stages, as well as development of the flight avionics suite. On November 16, 2022 the SLS rocket was successfully launched as part of the Artemis I Mission, which was an uncrewed test flight to validate the rocket component and systems in preparation for future crewed missions. Meanwhile, Boeing is building the core stages for Artemis II, III and IV, as well as the first Exploration Upper Stage, which will replace the Interim Cryogenic Upper Stage (ICPS) in future Artemis missions.
Launched on SLS, the Orion spacecraft will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry up to four crew members to space, provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during multiweek missions and provide a safe reentry to Earth from deep space return velocities. It’s composed of a crew module, service module and launch abort system.
Built by Lockheed Martin | NASA/Radislav Sinyak photo
The Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) for SLS Block 1 is the initial configuration that can deliver 27 metric tons of payload to the moon. Based on the proven Delta Cryogenic Second Stage and powered by one Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10 engine, ICPS will propel an uncrewed Orion spacecraft to fly beyond the moon and back on the Artemis I mission.
Built by United Launch Alliance and Boeing | NASA/Ben Smegelsky photo
The Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter (LVSA) connects the Block 1 core stage to the upper stage while providing structural, electrical and communication paths. It separates the core stage from the second stage that includes astronauts in the Orion crew vehicle. The cone-shaped adapter is roughly 30 feet in diameter by 30 feet tall. The LVSA consists of 16 aluminum-lithium 2195 alloy panels.
Built by Teledyne Brown Engineering | NASA/Fred Deaton photo
As the brains of SLS, the forward skirt is responsible for the rocket reaching its destination. It houses flight computers, cameras and avionics — the routers, processors, power, other boxes and software that control stage functions and communications. Along with the liquid oxygen tank and the intertank, it makes up the top half of the core stage.
Built by Boeing | NASA/Eric Bordelon photo
The liquid oxygen (LOX) tank holds 196,000 gallons (742,000 liters) of liquid oxygen cooled to minus 297 degrees Fahrenheit. Its thermal foam coating protects it from extreme temperatures — the cold of the propellants and the heat of friction. A test article at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in 2020 was subjected to 170% maximum predicted flight loads — far beyond the pressures of liftoff and launch — before rupturing and spilling 197,000 gallons (746,000 liters) of water across the test stand.
Built by Boeing | NASA photo
Joining the LH2 and LOX tanks, the intertank houses avionics and electronics that will control the rocket in flight. It also anchors two massive solid rocket boosters. The avionics units on the SLS core stage work with the flight software to perform various functions during the first eight minutes of flight. Some control the navigation, some communicate with the Orion spacecraft and some control how the engines perform. The intertank makes up the top half of the core stage, along with the LOX tank and forward skirt.
Built by Boeing | NASA/Jude Guidry photo
The largest human-rated solid rocket boosters ever built for flight, the SLS twin boosters stand 17 stories tall and burn about six tons of propellant every second. Each booster generates more thrust than 14 four-engine jumbo commercial airliners. Together, the SLS twin boosters provide more than 75% of the total thrust at launch.
Built by Northrop Grumman | NASA/Scott Mohrman photo
The liquid hydrogen (LH2) tank comprises two-thirds of the core stage, weighs 150,000 pounds (68,000 kilograms) and holds 537,000 gallons (2 million liters) of liquid hydrogen cooled to minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit. Thermal foam keeps the LH2 at the right temperature and pressure. A test article structurally identical to the flight hardware at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in 2019 withstood more than 260% of expected flight loads over five hours before buckling.
Built by Boeing | NASA/MAF/Steven Seipel photo
In addition to its miles of cabling and hundreds of sensors, the engine section is a crucial attachment point for the four RS-25 engines that work with two solid rocket boosters to produce a combined 8.8 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. Avionics here steer the engines, too. It was built vertically and flipped to horizontally to connect with the LH2 tank.
Built by Boeing | NASA photo
Four RS-25 engines will deliver more than 2 million pounds of thrust at altitude. Combined with two five-segment solid rocket boosters, the propulsion system will give SLS about 8.8 million pounds of thrust at launch — more lift than any current rocket and 15% more than the Saturn V. An RS-25 variant is under production for Artemis missions past the first four.
Built by Aerojet Rocketdyne | Aerojet Rocketdyne photo
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During the Artemis I test flight, SLS launched an uncrewed Orion spacecraft to the moon to test the performance of the integrated system. Additional missions are planned with this NASA SLS Block 1 configuration and its 27 metric ton launch payload capability to Trans-Lunar Injection (TLI) beyond Earth orbit, as the even more powerful Block 1B version – equipped with the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) - is designed and built. The EUS will provide NASA with a fully human-rated stage that enables deep space exploration with meaningful payload capabilities and is anticipated to allow 40 percent more payload to the Moon compared to the SLS Block 1 configuration.
Boeing is producing flight hardware for Artemis II and beyond.
NASA is Boeing’s customer for the core stage, upper stages and flight avionics of Space Launch System — America’s rocket — which will support the Artemis moon missions and make the next generation of human spaceflight possible.
Boeing is committed to NASA’s Artemis program and to the National Space Council’s vision for continued American leadership and international partnerships in space.
The Space Launch System’s unique capabilities mean that it can perform challenging science, national security, and exploration missions for a broad scope of potential customers. Boeing is not interested in participating in the National Security Space Launch Phase 3 procurement. Boeing remains proud of its role in the SLS program and excited about SLS’s potential.
The Boeing SLS Program is managed out of the company’s Space and Launch division in Huntsville, Alabama, and employs Boeing’s workforce in Huntsville, at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, and at other Boeing sites and with suppliers across the country. The Boeing Exploration Launch Systems office supports NASA on strategy and policy for Space Exploration programs procured by the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center.
