On its first mission—Exploration Mission 1–the Space Launch System (SLS) will transport secondary payloads mounted inside the Orion Stage Adaptor located between the top of the SLS upper stage, called the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion System (ICPS), and the Orion crew spacecraft. The shoebox-size CubeSat payloads will deploy from the adaptor after the Orion spacecraft moves away on its journey to deep space. The payloads will go to many different places to gather data including asteroids and Earth’s moon.
Image Credit: NASA/MSFC