I have been kinda out of the loop on spaceflight since 2022-23, so forgive me if this is a commonly asked or otherwise dumb question, but I have seen early renders of an LEO specific version of SLS which lacks an ICPS, in order to get Orion to LEO instead of LTO. Considering that removing the ICPS takes quite a bit of weight out of the equation, would the Delta V sacrifice be worth it? The only issue I could potentially see is an ICPSless SLS being too short for Orion to properly access the crew gantry, but that could also be easily solved by having a structural dummy stage with only necessary structural supports rather than fuel and an engine. submitted by /u/Remarkable_Log1596 [link] [comments]