From there, it was stacked on top of its mobile launch platform, and in between two 177-foot-tall (54 m) solid rocket boosters. .
Built by Northrop Grumman, the boosters are longer versions of the solid rocket motors that once powered the agency's fleet of space shuttles. The successful stacking of the core stage is just the start of a process to fully assemble the rocket ahead of launch.Four RS-25 engines — the same engine that powered the space shuttle — will power SLS, along with an added boost from the twin solid rocket boosters, generating more than 8 million pounds of thrust.NASA is hoping to launch the SLS and Orion crew capsule on an unpiloted test flight around the moon as soon as late November.Â
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