File:Sls block1 noeas afterburner engmarkings sm.jpg

English: Artist concept of the Block 1 SLS configuration in flight. The SLS is an advanced, heavy-lift rocket that will provide an entirely new capability for science and human exploration beyond Earth’s orbit. The first SLS mission -- Exploration Mission 1 -- in 2020 will launch an uncrewed Orion spacecraft to demonstrate the inte­grated system performance of the SLS rocket and spacecraft prior to a crewed flight. Black-and-white checkerboard targets on the exterior of the Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket will enable photogrammetrists to measure critical distances during spaceflight, including booster separation from the core stage.