"Ideally, NASA should be able to buy heavy lift services to send payloads to the Moon—up to about 45 metric tons to 'trans-lunar injection' which is about the same performance as the SLS Block 2 ...

The requirement to enter another round of modifications on the MLs for the Block 2 SLS is not expected until the 2030s, based on the timeline for that rocket to enter service.

It would still fall short of the mighty Saturn V’s 155 tons to LEO, but the proposed “Block 2” upgrades would increase SLS payload capability to within striking distance of the iconic Apollo ...

Following this recommendation, Congress included $350 million in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 to construct ML-2 for SLS Block 1B. The OIG has numerous recommendations aimed at ...

Not Block 2," he added, referring to the variant that ... to pour billions of dollars into the non-reusable rocket. The SLS has already seen its fair share of budget overruns and many years ...

The statement from NASA comes amid widespread speculation that SLS — which made its debut flight test in 2022 — may be on the chopping block. Those critics often argue that Elon Musk’s ...