The world's biggest, most powerful rocket is about to be made.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that it has signed a $2.8 billion deal with Boeing to develop the core stage for the completion of the Space Launch System (SLS), a heavy launch space vehicle designed to bring cargo and human passengers beyond low-Earth orbit into the moon, the asteroids, Mars and into deep space beyond.
NASA said it is giving Boeing the green light to commence production of the rocket core for the SLS and conduct preliminary studies for the development of an upper stage, which will allow downstream exploration missions and increase payload capabilities.
"Our teams have dedicated themselves to ensuring that the SLS - the largest ever - will be built safely, affordably and on time," says Boeing vice president and program manager for SLS Virginia Barnes. "We are passionate about NASA's mission to explore deep space. It's a very personal mission, as well as a national mandate."
The contract comes after NASA completed its Critical Design Review (CDR) process, the last phase of review before production can begin. The last time the agency conducted an assessment of a deep-space exploration vehicle was in 1961 for the production of the Saturn V rocket, which eventually became part of history as the space vehicle used to bring three astronauts to the surface of the moon.
SLS, however, will be much more powerful than Saturn V. The rocket will have two configurations, with the first one set for its maiden flight off Florida's Cape Canaveral in 2017 to launch an unmanned Orion capsule into low-Earth orbit. Standing as tall as a 20-storey building, the 321-foot rocket will weigh 5.5 million pounds with a capacity of 77 tons and will run on four hydrogen fuel engines and five-segment solid-fuel boosters initially intended for the now defunct space shuttle program.
NASA still has to finalize the second and final SLS configuration and maiden flight schedule but the two-stage, 384-foot, 6.5 million-pound rocket will be larger and more powerful than the first one, with a capability of lifting 143 tons and an upper stage that runs on advanced J-2X engines and strap-on boosters. The Saturn V is only capable of lifting 130 tons and Russia's super-rocket, with a design still withheld from the public, is said to be able to carry 80 tons.
NASA has taken four years to reach this stage in the Obama administration's ambition to explore deep space. In 2010, President Barack Obama scrapped his predecessor George W. Bush's Constellation project that focused on bringing another manned mission to the moon, with the intention of targeting Mars and beyond. With its most powerful rocket up for production, NASA hopes SLS will revolutionize the way humans approach space flight and exploration.
