TPM-

The design for NASA's new Space Launch System (SLS), unveiled Wednesday morning, is touted as the vehicle that will allow astronauts to visit "near-Earth asteroids, Mars and its moons and beyond." It'll serve as a go-between for the International Space Station as well.

NASA.gov-

The Space Launch System, or SLS, will be designed to carry the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, as well as important cargo, equipment and science experiments to Earth's orbit and destinations beyond. Additionally, the SLS will serve as a back up for commercial and international partner transportation services to the International Space Station.

 

Edited September 14, 201114 yr by Athomeboy_2000

Deep Space?

They're planning to launch it (unmanned) in 2017? Seems just a little too ambitious.

Deep Space?

 

Deep-ish Space. . . ?

Didn't they ever see the movie Event Horizon. This is a bad idea!

Edited September 14, 201114 yr by GoSox05

Hopefully they get this project off of the ground close to the time table.

Hopefully they get this project off of the ground close to the time table.

Not a chance in hell. Budget cuts at NASA are way, way, way too deep for that to happen. Under the President's budget we're already dramatically cutting back, to the point where flagship planetary missions (i.e. Galileo, Cassini, Hubble/JWST) are things of the past. Same effect in this system...the President's budget won't get this done on this schedule.

 

And that's the President's budget...not a deficit reduction agreement.

That was the idea. It really is amazing how small NASA's budget is versus what they accomplish.

To put it another way...the Planetary program just completed a "Decadal survey" budgeting and trying to plan for their next decade of missions. There are a couple major missions and then smaller "Discovery" and "New Frontiers" missions, of the sort that have been going to Mars and asteroids lately.

 

Here's an estimated cost of those missions per year.

 

The black line is the 10 year budgetary projection based on continuing growth from the 2011 budget.

 

The red curve I drew is approximately what happens with the Obama long-term discretionary spending freeze.

 

The GOP budget slashes on top of that.

 

Basically, the Obama budget would end almost everything NASA does except for a handful of contracts. And the GOP budget thinks that is too much.

 

 

 

NASA is a waste of money at that point. If you are going to have it, fund it. If not, close it down, and sell the technology and projects to the private sector. Halfassing it is a completely waste of time, money, and probably lives.

NASA is a waste of money at that point. If you are going to have it, fund it. If not, close it down, and sell the technology and projects to the private sector. Halfassing it is a completely waste of time, money, and probably lives.

Well, there's really not many lives at risk, the only thing that will be running is the ISS and we won't be doing the launching ourselves anyway.