NASA’s first SLS launch now expected in H2 of 2021

US space agency NASA’s maiden launch of the Space Launch System (SLS) is expected to slip to late 2021 according to a top official.

NASA has yet to provide a new formal launch date for that mission, which has slipped by several years. In December, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said that launch would take place in 2021 after the agency had been holding on a November 2020 launch.

At a recent meeting, NASA Associate Administrator Steve Jurczyk said that all the elements needed for the Artemis 3 2024 human lunar landing are either under development or will soon be under contract.

That includes the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft. The SLS core stage for the Artemis 1 uncrewed test flight is currently at the Stennis Space Center for a “Green Run” static-fire test scheduled for later this year.