Fifteen Years to the Interstellar Medium with An Enhanced NASA Space Launch System Launcher

The NASA Space Launch System (SLS) capabilities for launching heavy payloads with high injection velocities will enable a variety of exploration missions that would not otherwise be considered. In this paper, the Interstellar Probe mission is described, and an enhanced version of the NASA SLS is presented. In addition to launching heavy elements with large diameters, the SLS is also suited to inject smaller spacecraft to extremely high velocities. This allows trip times to deep space destinations to be significantly shorter than those that could be achieved by other launch vehicles. Shorter trip times will provide for the collection of scientific data sooner, allowing for new discoveries to occur much earlier. In this paper the Interstellar Probe mission is described and an enhanced version of the NASA SLS is presented.