NASA booster uses technology developed for Space Shuttle, Constellation
Known as the Space Launch System, or SLS, it will first carry the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle to Earth’s orbit and possibly beyond. Interestingly NASA said the SLS will operate as a back-up for commercial and international partner transportation services to the International Space Station.
NASA has a variety of commercial developments in the works from Boeing, Space Exploration Technologies (Space X), Sierra Nevada and Blue Origin.
Cool background: 10 NASA space technologies that may never see the cosmos
From NASA: “The SLS rocket will incorporate technological investments from the Space Shuttle program and the Constellation program in order to take advantage of proven hardware and cutting-edge tooling and manufacturing technology that will significantly reduce development and operations costs. It will use a liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propulsion system, which will include the RS-25D/E from the Space Shuttle program for the core stage and the J-2X engine for the upper stage. SLS will also use solid rocket boosters for the initial development flights, while follow-on boosters will be competed based on performance requirements and affordability considerations. The SLS will have an initial lift capacity of 70 metric tons (mT) and will be evolvable to 130 mT. The first developmental flight, or mission, is targeted for the end of 2017. “
NASA said it is utilizing already developed technologies to reduce costs as budget constraints could reduce future developments. The SLS architecture also lets NASA use existing capabilities and lower development costs by using liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen for both the core and upper stages. “Additionally, this architecture provides a modular launch vehicle that can be configured for specific mission needs using a variation of common elements. NASA may not need to lift 130 mT for each mission and the flexibility of this modular architecture allows the agency to use different core stage, upper stage, and first-stage booster combinations to achieve the most efficient launch vehicle for the desired mission,” NASA said.
Follow Michael Cooney on Twitter: nwwlayer8
Layer 8 Extra
Check out these other hot stories:
Cyber-attack: A big one is coming says US Cyber Command General
NASA picks five companies to study solar electric spacecraft propulsion
EPA offering $500k to rev-up nationwide auto diagnostic Web site
US plan fires up gigabit application development for ultrafast networks
US lacks serious cyber intelligence
Verizon fires workers who ran, participated in office football pool
Got acne? There’s NOT an iPhone, Android app for that, FTC says
US blusters up $43M to grow off-shore wind energy
Carnegie Mellon opens competitions aimed at building slick robots
Space scientist, MIT PhD, pleads guilty, gets 13 years in prison for espionage
Scammer “crams” $35 million in false phone charges — from prison
FAA slaps $175,000 fine on MIT for batteries that caught fire at FedEx
Cryogenic service truck climbs mountain so telescopes don’t have to
Air Force awards $25K to inventor of insanely fast device that stops fleeing cars
US Dept. of Energy devises security system to thwart rampant copper thefts
