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21/07FIA’26: U.S. X-Bow Systems unveiled Buckler Interceptor to counter mass drone attacks at lower cost
20/07FIA’26: Vertical Aerospace makes eVTOL flight debut at Farnborow Airshow
16/07SpaceX aborts Starship Flight 13 launch attempt
14/07Ukraine acquires 16 Dassault Rafale fighters, 4 SAMP/T NG anti-ballistic and air defence systems and 5 GM400 radars
10/07Nine European countries joined Ukraine to develop Freyja ballistic missile defence system
08/07NATO allies will invest $ 40 Bn in counter-drone capabilities
15/06B-52 crashes after takeoff at Edwards AFB, California. There were no survivors among the 8 crew members
15/06Ukrainian F-16 fighters set for IRIS-T missile integration
14/0612 dead following New-Zealand-built turboprop skydiving Butler P-750 plane crash in Missouri
13/06Airbus Defence reveals "Team Gen 6" proposal in wake of FCAS collapse
12/06U.S. Air Force begins combat-focused testing of B-21 Raider
11/06Japan’s H3 rocket launched on its 1st flight since a failure in December, placing 6 smallsats in orbit
11/06Long March 5 launches classified satellite, Zhuque-2E lofts direct-to-device test sats
10/06Rafael unveils Hunter Eagle interceptor for counter-drone swarm defence at ILA 2026
10/06Airbus reveals uncrewed U145 at ILA Berlin Airshow
21/07FIA’26: U.S. X-Bow Systems unveiled Buckler Interceptor to counter mass drone attacks at lower cost
20/07FIA’26: Vertical Aerospace makes eVTOL flight debut at Farnborow Airshow
16/07SpaceX aborts Starship Flight 13 launch attempt
14/07Ukraine acquires 16 Dassault Rafale fighters, 4 SAMP/T NG anti-ballistic and air defence systems and 5 GM400 radars
10/07Nine European countries joined Ukraine to develop Freyja ballistic missile defence system
08/07NATO allies will invest $ 40 Bn in counter-drone capabilities
15/06B-52 crashes after takeoff at Edwards AFB, California. There were no survivors among the 8 crew members
15/06Ukrainian F-16 fighters set for IRIS-T missile integration
14/0612 dead following New-Zealand-built turboprop skydiving Butler P-750 plane crash in Missouri
13/06Airbus Defence reveals "Team Gen 6" proposal in wake of FCAS collapse
12/06U.S. Air Force begins combat-focused testing of B-21 Raider
11/06Japan’s H3 rocket launched on its 1st flight since a failure in December, placing 6 smallsats in orbit
11/06Long March 5 launches classified satellite, Zhuque-2E lofts direct-to-device test sats
10/06Rafael unveils Hunter Eagle interceptor for counter-drone swarm defence at ILA 2026
10/06Airbus reveals uncrewed U145 at ILA Berlin Airshow
21/07FIA’26: U.S. X-Bow Systems unveiled Buckler Interceptor to counter mass drone attacks at lower cost
20/07FIA’26: Vertical Aerospace makes eVTOL flight debut at Farnborow Airshow
16/07SpaceX aborts Starship Flight 13 launch attempt
14/07Ukraine acquires 16 Dassault Rafale fighters, 4 SAMP/T NG anti-ballistic and air defence systems and 5 GM400 radars
10/07Nine European countries joined Ukraine to develop Freyja ballistic missile defence system
08/07NATO allies will invest $ 40 Bn in counter-drone capabilities
15/06B-52 crashes after takeoff at Edwards AFB, California. There were no survivors among the 8 crew members
15/06Ukrainian F-16 fighters set for IRIS-T missile integration
14/0612 dead following New-Zealand-built turboprop skydiving Butler P-750 plane crash in Missouri
13/06Airbus Defence reveals "Team Gen 6" proposal in wake of FCAS collapse
12/06U.S. Air Force begins combat-focused testing of B-21 Raider
11/06Japan’s H3 rocket launched on its 1st flight since a failure in December, placing 6 smallsats in orbit
11/06Long March 5 launches classified satellite, Zhuque-2E lofts direct-to-device test sats
10/06Rafael unveils Hunter Eagle interceptor for counter-drone swarm defence at ILA 2026
10/06Airbus reveals uncrewed U145 at ILA Berlin Airshow
21/07FIA’26: U.S. X-Bow Systems unveiled Buckler Interceptor to counter mass drone attacks at lower cost
20/07FIA’26: Vertical Aerospace makes eVTOL flight debut at Farnborow Airshow
16/07SpaceX aborts Starship Flight 13 launch attempt
14/07Ukraine acquires 16 Dassault Rafale fighters, 4 SAMP/T NG anti-ballistic and air defence systems and 5 GM400 radars
10/07Nine European countries joined Ukraine to develop Freyja ballistic missile defence system
08/07NATO allies will invest $ 40 Bn in counter-drone capabilities
15/06B-52 crashes after takeoff at Edwards AFB, California. There were no survivors among the 8 crew members
15/06Ukrainian F-16 fighters set for IRIS-T missile integration
14/0612 dead following New-Zealand-built turboprop skydiving Butler P-750 plane crash in Missouri
13/06Airbus Defence reveals "Team Gen 6" proposal in wake of FCAS collapse
12/06U.S. Air Force begins combat-focused testing of B-21 Raider
11/06Japan’s H3 rocket launched on its 1st flight since a failure in December, placing 6 smallsats in orbit
11/06Long March 5 launches classified satellite, Zhuque-2E lofts direct-to-device test sats
10/06Rafael unveils Hunter Eagle interceptor for counter-drone swarm defence at ILA 2026
10/06Airbus reveals uncrewed U145 at ILA Berlin Airshow

Your are here : Home News / NASA completes Critical Design Review for Space Launch System

SPACE

NASA completes Critical Design Review for Space Launch System

Published by Aero3A

For the first time in 40 years, a NASA human-rated rocket has completed all steps needed to clear a Critical Design Review (CDR). The agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) is the first vehicle designed to meet the challenges of the journey to Mars and the first exploration class rocket since the Saturn V.

SLS will be the most powerful rocket ever built and, with the agency's Orion spacecraft, will launch America into a new era of exploration to destinations beyond Earth's orbit. The CDR provided a final look at the design and development of the integrated launch vehicle before full-scale fabrication begins.

The CDR examined the first of three configurations planned for the rocket, referred to as SLS Block 1. The Block I configuration will have a minimum 70-metric-ton (77-ton) lift capability and be powered by twin boosters and four RS-25 engines.

The next planned upgrade of SLS, Block 1B, would use a more powerful exploration upper stage for more ambitious missions with a 105-metric-ton (115-ton) lift capacity. Block 2 will add a pair of advanced solid or liquid propellant boosters to provide a 130-metric-ton (143-ton) lift capacity. In each configuration, SLS will continue to use the same core stage and four RS-25 engines.

The SLS Program completed the review in July 2015, in conjunction with a separate review by the Standing Review Board, which is composed of seasoned experts from NASA and industry who are independent of the program. The program briefed the results of the review in October to the Agency Program Management Council, led by NASA Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot, as the final step in the CDR process.

This review is the last of four reviews that examine concepts and designs. The next step for the program is design certification, which will take place in 2017 after manufacturing, integration and testing is complete. The design certification will compare the actual final product to the rocket's design. The final review, the flight readiness review, will take place just prior to the 2018 flight readiness date