spacetoday.net: Space Launch System completes critical design review

Space Launch System completes critical design review

Posted: Sat, Oct 24, 2015, 11:31 AM ET (1531 GMT)
Space Launch System (SLS) illustration, Oct 2015 (NASA)

The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket has passed a key milestone in its development and remains on track for a first launch in 2018, NASA announced Thursday. The agency said the SLS has passed a critical design review (CDR), the final step before beginning full-scale fabrication of the launch vehicle. The design of the vehicle remains the same, with only cosmetic changes: NASA said it will not paint the core stage white, as shown in previous illustrations of the vehicle, but instead leave it orange, the color of its insulation. The first SLS launch, carrying an Orion capsule on an uncrewed test flight, is planned for 2018.