Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Space Launch System first launched on the 16th of November 2022, carrying the uncrewed Artemis I mission on a lunar test flight. Its first crewed launch occurred in April 2026 for the Artemis II lunar flyby.
NASA spent $31.5 billion on SLS development from 2011 through 2025 in nominal dollars, equivalent to $38.7 billion in 2026 dollars. Per-launch costs have been estimated at $4 billion each for Artemis I, II, and III, according to the then-acting NASA administrator in 2025.
Boeing builds the SLS core stage at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Northrop Grumman manufactures the solid rocket boosters, Aerojet Rocketdyne builds the RS-25 and RL-10 engines, and United Launch Alliance produced the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage upper stage.
SLS can deliver 27 metric tons to trans-lunar injection, roughly half the Saturn V's 48.6 metric ton capacity on the same trajectory. SLS does produce higher liftoff thrust, at 39 meganewtons, making it the most powerful rocket ever to carry humans by that measure.
Congress mandated SLS in the NASA Authorization Act of 2010 as a replacement for the retiring Space Shuttle, directing NASA to reuse existing Shuttle components and workforce. The requirement preserved aerospace jobs and contracts in key states, with senators from Utah, Alabama, and Florida each securing provisions that benefited contractors in their regions.
NASA selected ULA's Centaur V as the replacement upper stage after canceling the purpose-built Exploration Upper Stage in February 2026. The Centaur V uses a pair of RL10 engines and is expected to provide modestly improved performance over the current Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage.