Blast Off! Nasa says agency is 'firmly committed' to building world's biggest rocket - and says it WIL take man to Mars in 2030
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Nasa bosses have said they are 'firmly committed' to building the world's biggest rocket to take man to Mars.
Despite worries over the space agencies ability to pay for the project, officials said they have completed a rigorous review of the Space Launch System (SLS).
Towering a staggering 384 feet tall, the Space Launch System (SLS) will provide 9.2 million pounds of thrust at liftoff and weigh 6.5 million pounds.
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An artist's impression of the giant rocket taking off
CAN NASA AFFORD IT?
Nasa doesn't have enough money to get its new, $12 billion rocket system off the ground by the end of 2017 as planned, federal auditors warned in July.
The Government Accountability Office issued a report Wednesday saying Nasa's's Space Launch System is at 'high risk of missing' its planned December 2017 initial test flight.
'They can't meet the date with the money they have,' report author Cristina Chaplain said.
She said it wasn't because the space agency had technical problems with the congressionally-required program, but that Nasa didn't get enough money to carry out the massive undertaking.
'We are on a journey of scientific and human exploration that leads to Mars,' said Nasa Administrator Charles Bolden.
'And we're firmly committed to building the launch vehicle and other supporting systems that will take us on that journey.'
For its first flight test, SLS will be configured for a 70-metric-ton (77-ton) lift capacity and carry an uncrewed Orion spacecraft beyond low-Earth orbit.
In its most powerful configuration, SLS will provide an unprecedented lift capability of 130 metric tons (143 tons), which will enable missions even farther into our solar system, including such destinations as an asteroid and Mars.
This decision comes after a thorough review known as Key Decision Point C (KDP-C), which provides a development cost baseline for the 70-metric ton version of the SLS of $7.021 billion from February 2014 through the first launch and a launch readiness schedule based on an initial SLS flight no later than November 2018.
Conservative cost and schedule commitments outlined in the KDP-C align the SLS program with program management best practices that account for potential technical risks and budgetary uncertainty beyond the program's control.
'Our nation is embarked on an ambitious space exploration program, and we owe it to the American taxpayers to get it right,' said Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot, who oversaw the review process.
'After rigorous review, we're committing today to a funding level and readiness date that will keep us on track to sending humans to Mars in the 2030s – and we're going to stand behind that commitment.'
The biggest rocket ever made: The SLS will be 384 feet tall and weigh 6.5 million pounds
'The Space Launch System Program has done exemplary work during the past three years to get us to this point,' said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for the Human Explorations and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
'We will keep the teams working toward a more ambitious readiness date, but will be ready no later than November 2018.'
Nasa has been testing small scale versions of the rocket amid fears it could be too loud.
Four SLS RS-25 engines will be used to power the world's biggest rocket into orbit.
'A 5-percent scale model, including solid rocket motors, of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) is ignited to test how low- and high-frequency sound waves will affect the rocket on the launch pad,' the agency said.
'The data collected from the tests will be used to help direct and verify the design of the rocket's sound suppression system.'
Previous tests have shown that most of
the acoustic energy being emitted from a rocket engines is concentrated in the low to mid frequency ranges.
'This may have the potential to damage structures or harm personnel in the immediate vicinity of the test stand.' a Nasa report warned.
The SLS is set to become the largest rocket ever built, dwarfing the rockets that took man to the moon and paving the way for manned missions to Mars.
Nasa today said it is about to start testing the engines for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket - on the same stand that were used to perfect the Apollo rockets.
Four engines, a modified version of the space shuttle main engine that powered missions into space from 1981 to 2011, will be used on the mega-rocket.
'This test series is a major milestone because it will be our first opportunity to operate the engine with a new controller and to test propellant inlet conditions for SLS that are different than the space shuttle,' said Steve Wofford, SLS Liquid Engines Element manager.
Earlier this year Nasa signed a $2.8 billion contract with Boeing to build the giant rocket it is hoped will take us into deep space.
How it compares: The SLS is larger than the Saturn rockets than launched man to the Moon. It will also be more powerful than any rocket in operation today. Russia's super-rocket design has yet to be unveiled. However construction of the first stage of Russia's super-rocket - capable of lifting 80 tonnes - is already underway
The pieces that make up Nasa's mega-rocket in its first configuration
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