NASA has announced its new heavy-lift launch vehicle that is to provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond Earth’s orbit. The Space Launch System (SLS), NASA says, will provide the Earth with a safe, affordable and sustainable means of breaking through current space exploration limits, opening up the possibility of exciting new discoveries.
The launch system is to carry the next-generation Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (OMPCV) as well as important cargo, equipment and science experiments to destinations well beyond Earth’s orbit. In addition, NASA has stated the SLS will also serve as a backup for commercial and international transportation services to the International Space Station.
Speaking on the unveiling, NASA administrator, Charles Bolden, said: “President Obama challenged us to dream big, and that’s exactly what we are doing at NASA. While I was proud to fly on the space shuttle, tomorrow’s explorers will now dream of one day walking on Mars.”
The SLS rocket has been designed to utilise technological investments from the recently retired Space Shuttle Program, as well as a host of cutting-edge technology.
The rocket will use a liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propulsion system, multiple solid rocket boosters and have a final lift capacity of 130 metric tons (286,000 pounds), the equivalent thrust to lift 75 SUVs. Addressing financial concerns raised amid budget cuts, NASA deputy administrator, Lori Garver, said that: “We have been driving down the costs on the Space Launch System and Orion contracts by adopting new ways of doing business and project hundreds of millions of dollars of savings each year”.
NASA closed the unveiling by stating that the Space Launch System will be its first exploration-class vehicle since the Saturn V took US astronauts to the moon over 40 years ago and that with its superior lift capability, the SLS will expand Earth’s reach in the solar system and allow exploration of cis-lunar space, nearby asteroids, Mars and beyond.