Following completion of certification testing in October 2020 of the computer system for the first launch of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, teams are now working on upgrades for future flights and vehicle configurations. The first SLS vehicle will be assembled at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida later this year, and a critical set of checkouts of the new rocket with its Orion spacecraft payload will be performed to verify that Artemis 1 is ready to launch.
The SLS Program continues to test Release 14 of the vehicle’s flight software to support the upcoming Artemis 1 Integrated Test and Checkout in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at KSC, while also working on future software releases. Release 15 will support Artemis 2 and future Block 1 missions and be followed by Release 16, which will run the evolved computer architecture for the Exploration Upper Stage and the SLS Block 1B vehicle.