Initially, the SLS rocket, which uses engines left over from the space shuttle program and shuttle-derived solid rocket boosters, will have the capacity to put about 77 tons (70 metric tons) into an orbit about 100 miles (160 km) above Earth.
Later versions are expected to carry nearly twice that load.
“We’re really building a system,” Gerstenmaier said. “It is much, much more than one flight.”
(Editing by Frank McGurty and Andrew Hay)
