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SLS (Space Launch System) Orion Stage Adapter

The OSA (Orion stage adapter), built by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, connects the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket’s interim cryogenic propulsion stage to NASA’s Orion spacecraft. The small ring structure is the topmost portion of the SLS rocket.

Encyclopedia
Updated Sep 24, 2024
The Artemis II OSA (Orion stage adapter), built at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
The Artemis II OSA (Orion stage adapter), built at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
NASA

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The OSA (Orion stage adapter), built by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, connects the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket’s interim cryogenic propulsion stage to NASA’s Orion spacecraft. The small ring structure is the topmost portion of the SLS rocket. A diaphragm within the adapter provides a barrier and protects Orion from gases generated during launch, such as hydrogen.

The adapter can also carry small payloads, called CubeSats, to deep space.

The OSA can potentially accommodate up to 17 CubeSats in a combination of 6U and 12U

sizes (one unit, or U, is 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm). The actual number of CubeSats manifested on a flight depends on several factors, including mission parameters and CubeSat weight. SLS launched 10 CubeSats as secondary payloads on its Artemis I mission in 2022.

The SLS Program provides a comprehensive secondary payload deployment system for CubeSats, including mounting brackets for commercial off-the-shelf dispensers, cable harnesses, a vibration isolation system, and an avionics unit.

CubeSats can play a key role in the Artemis missions by gathering data and demonstrating potential technologies that reduce risk, increase effectiveness, and improve the design of robotic and human space exploration missions.

The OSA for the Artemis II test flight, the first crewed flight of Artemis, features a critical auxiliary target. This target will be used

by Artemis astronauts during a proximity operations demonstration intended to test Orion’s handling capabilities.

The Artemis II OSA (Orion stage adapter), built at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
The Artemis II OSA (Orion stage adapter), built at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
NASA
Illustration of SLS (Space Launch System) Block 1 rocket expanded diagonally to display the main rocket elements and their discrete locations within the stacked SLS rocket, with individual elements labeled. Indicated, from bottom to top, are call-outs for the four RS-25 engines, two solid rocket boosters to either side of the core stage, launch vehicle stage adapter, interim cryogenic propulsion stage with its single RL10 engine, the Orion stage adapter, and finally the Orion spacecraft with its spacecraft adapter, encapsulated service model panels, service module, crew module, and launch abort system. Inset illustration displays the fully integrated SLS Block 1 rocket.
The Orion Stage Adapter for Artemis I sits below as a large circle that has CubeSats secured along the inside yellow part of it.
The OSA can accommodate small satellites, called CubeSats, that conduct science experiments and technology demonstrations. The CubeSats pictured above were launched during the
Artemis I mission.
NASA

NASA is working to land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.

Orion Stage Adapter Facts

Height……………………. 5 ft. (1.5 m)

Diameter……………….. 18 ft. (5.4 m)

Payload volume…….. 516 ft3 (14.6 m3) up to 17 berths for 6U/12U CubeSats

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

George C. Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL 35812 www.nasa.gov/marshall

www.nasa.gov

For more information about SLS, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/artemis
http://www.nasa.gov/sls
http://www.twitter.com/NASA_SLS
http://www.facebook.com/NASASLS
http://www.instagram.com/nasaartemis

MSFS-08-2024-SLS-4966