NASA told U.S. lawmakers Jan. 10 it intends to build a heavy-lift rocket that incorporates the space shuttle’s main engines, giant external tank and taller versions of the solid-rocket boosters it jettisons on the way to orbit, according to a senior NASA official. However, neither the rocket nor the crew vehicle it would launch could be completed within the cost and schedule Congress outlined for the project late last year, reports SpaceNews.
Congress directed NASA last fall to get started this year on a multipurpose crew exploration vehicle and a heavy-lift rocket initially capable of hauling 70-100 metric tons of payload to orbit. That guidance was included in the NASA Authorization Act of 2010, which U.S. President Barack Obama signed into law in October. The law gave NASA 90 days from enactment to produce a heavy-lift launch vehicle study.
Doug Cooke, NASA associate administrator for exploration systems, said the agency recently concluded the best approach for meeting the heavy-lift requirements spelled out in the law will be to build a rocket that incorporates the shuttle’s nearly 8.4-meter diameter external tanks, five space shuttle main engines also known as the RS-25D, a J-2X-based upper stage and two five-segment solid-rocket boosters similar to those NASA and industry have been working on the past several years for the Ares family of launchers Obama targeted for termination in the 2011 budget blueprint he sent lawmakers last February, writes Amy Svitak.
No comments:
Post a Comment