SLS cargo
While NASA is developing a cargo version of the SLS that could be used for science missions, the limited supply chain and requirements of the Artemis program will limit its use to missions launching no earlier than the late 2020s.

A limited supply chain and the demands of the Artemis program will prevent the use of the Space Launch System for alternative roles, such as launching science missions, until at least late this decade.

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Jeff Foust has more than a decade of experience writing about space policy, entrepreneurial ventures and regulatory affairs. In 2001, he established spacetoday.net to aggregate and summarize the day's space-related news stories. In 2003, he started The...