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SLS (Space Launch System) Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter

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The cone-shaped launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA) connects the interim cryogenic propulsion stage to the SLS (Space Launch System) core stage for the first three Artemis flights.

During launch and ascent, the LVSA provides structural support and protects avionics and electrical devices within the interim cryogenic propulsion stage from extreme vibrations and acoustic conditions.

Teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida integrate the Artemis I LVSA (launch vehicle stage adapter) with the massive SLS (Space Launch System) core stage on the mobile launcher in the Vehicle Assembly Building.
NASA/Frank Michaux

Approximately 500 seconds into flight, a frangible joint assembly at the top of the adapter instantaneously separates the LVSA and core stage from the upper part of the rocket.

Prime contractor Teledyne Brown Engineering manufactures the LVSA using self-reacting friction-stir welding tools at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs integrate the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA) atop the massive SLS core stage in the agency’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 5, 2021. The ICPS is a liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen-based system that will fire its RL 10 engine to give the Orion spacecraft the big in-space push needed to fly tens of thousands of miles beyond the Moon. The next component to be stacked on top of ICPS will be the Orion stage adapter, which will connect the ICPS with the spacecraft. Through Artemis, NASA will send the first woman and the first person of color to the lunar surface, as well as establish a sustainable presence on and around the Moon. As the first in an increasingly complex set of missions, Artemis I will test SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon.
The LVSA connects the mega rocket’s core stage to the interim cryogenic propulsion stage, partially enclosing it and protecting its avionics and electrical systems from the extreme pressures, sounds, and temperatures during launch and flight.
NASA
Expanded illustration of SLS (Space Launch System) Block 1.

SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.

Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter Facts

Height…………………………………….27.5 ft. (8.4 m)

Top Diameter…………………………..16.5 ft. (5 m)

Bottom Diameter……………………..Tapers down to 27.5 ft. (8.4 m)

Contractor……………………………….Teledyne Brown Engineering

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

George C. Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, AL 35812
www.nasa.gov/marshall

www.nasa.gov

For more information about SLS, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/Artemis
http://www.nasa.gov/SLS
https://www.facebook.com/NASAArtemis/
https://x.com/NASAArtemis
http://www.instagram.com/NASAArtemis

MSFS-12-2025-SLS-5641