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NASA's Block I Space Launch System with Orion

NOTES:
-This is designed to be spawned on the Oil Rig/Platform spawn zone

-The Orion Capsule is not airtight and will sink on splashdown

-Due to the separation rockets used in staging, expect to take minor damage during the flight




We are going! NASA's Artemis Program is poised to send humans back to the moon and the rocket that will send them there is the Space Launch System! This is my 60% scale replica of the Block I Space Launch System.

FEATURES:
-Fully functional Space Launch System Rocket and Orion Spacecraft

-2 Countdown lengths(15 minutes & 5 Minutes)

-Water Deluge/Sound Suppression System

-Functional Launch Escape System



LAUNCHING THE ROCKET:
Launching my SLS is simple! Near the workbench, you will find a control panel with 2 unlocked lockable buttons, one labeled "Short Countdown" and one Labeled "Long Countdown". Activate the button for your desired countdown, then grab your spacesuit and make your way to the pad.

NOTE: The Crew Access Arm will retract before launch (1 minute before on the 5 minute countdown & 6 Minutes before on the 15 minute countdown). Make sure you are on board Orion before the arm retracts as you will not be able to access the spacecraft afterwards.

Once you have made your way up to the pad, head over to the elevator at the bottom of the launch umbilical tower. Once in the elevator, select the button labeled "158ft Level(Crew Access Arm)". Once the elevator has ascended the tower, make your way over the gantry bridge to the door labeled "White Room". Before you climb through the hatch and into Orion, make sure to use the first aid kits if you are not at full health, as the separation rockets may cause minor bodily damage during the flight.

Once you have climbed into the Orion capsule and taken your seat, press the Buttons labeled "Lights" and "Screen Power". Once you feel comfortable and ready to fly, press the button labeled "Seal Hatch". It is important that you DO NOT press the button labeled "Arm Parachute" yet.

From this point just sit back and enjoy the ride, the countdown should be visible on the screen in front of the Commander's Seat so you can track how long before launch.

NOTE: The Launch abort system will not be armed until after the Crew Access Arm has retracted. In the event of an emergency before then, egress the spacecraft via the Access Arm and make your way down the tower.

The flight itself is mostly automated, the only thing you have to do is press the "Arm Parachute" Button after the main engines cut off. Pressing it before then will trigger the parachute early. If this button is not pressed, the parachute will not deploy before landing.


VEHICLE HISTORY:
Orion began its life as part of the Constellation program, started in the mid 2000s as a potential replacement for the Space Shuttle. It was designed as a multi-purpose crew capsule that could ferry crews to and from destinations in orbit and in deep space, intended to carry crews to the ISS as well as The Moon and Mars.

It was originally designed to fly atop the Ares I rocket, however in 2011 the Constellation Program was cancelled. Since Orion was significantly farther through its design phase, it was kept. In 2012, the Space Launch System(SLS) was proposed as a replacement for the Ares I and Ares V of the Constellation Program. Built almost entirely out of legacy shuttle components, it was expected that the SLS would be relatively quick and cheap to build, expecting a first launch in 2016.

To further streamline the process, the first few flights replaced the planned Exploration Upper Stage with the 2nd stage from a ULA Delta IV rocket. This proved useful when Orion was ready for it's first test flight in late 2014, long before SLS. So Orion flew for the first time atop a Delta IV Heavy on a mission known as Exploration Flight Test 1(EFT-1).

At the time it was planned for the first flight of SLS to be Exploration Mission 1(EM-1), an unmanned test flight around the moon. The second flight would be a manned flight to visit a captured asteroid in lunar orbit. However, both SLS and Orion started to fall behind schedule, with the launch date for EM-1 slipping to 2018, then 2020.

In 2017, the Artemis Program was officially started, with the stated goal of returning American's to the surface of the moon. EM-1 was renamed Artemis I & Orion and SLS became part of the Artemis Program.

After a few more delays, Artemis I is now nearly ready to fly. Scheduled for this summer, Orion will make it's uncrewed flight around the moon, launching atop the Space Launch System for the first time. While this is mostly a NASA program, many components of the SLS and Orion are from our international partners, like the service module which was built by the European Space Agency.


PERSONAL NOTE:
I've been following spaceflight very closely for the past decade and for as long as I can remember, SLS has always been a rendering, a concept. To see it fully assembled and on the pad in all of its glory brings a tear to my eye and I'm really looking froward to seeing it fly later this year.

For more images of my Orion & Space Launch System, here's an Imgur Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/u5mqI3G