NASA Picks SLS Proposals
NASA Selects Space Launch System Advanced Booster Proposals
“NASA has selected six proposals to improve the affordability, reliability and performance of an advanced booster for the Space Launch System (SLS). The awardees will develop engineering demonstrations and risk reduction concepts for SLS, a heavy-lift rocket that will provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit.”
I thought NASA has already done this. This proves that NASA is following the same formula,studies upon studies, which will result in delays,cost-overruns.
The SLS will prove to be one big headache for NASA.
What a joke. Even for a jobs program this Agency is one piece of non-work. Will someone stop this madness already and save the taxpayers some money. Better yet, how do I get on this welfare gravey train – I could use the cash.
Folks:
Is this ‘proposal selection’ just another way to muddy the fact that SLS is still a single source contract? To be honest and fair, not a penny should be awarded to SLS until there is an open, free and fair competition for a heavy lift launcher. In fact, don’t even have that competition until NASA has a mission for it to fly.
The absence of logic is corruption. If it ain’t logical then…
tinker
Cheap LV launches builds space station gravity wheel
I’m looking at Spacex’s hopper
Wondering how much the tanks and core weigh???
What if you designed a version of the falcon 9 v1.1 to work in a whole new way.
What if your goal was to put as much core as possible into orbit with no payload or capsule on top.
Couldn’t you redesign your falcon boosters by simply changing the tank sizes like this.
At the bottom of the stack you have your 9 merlins. Right above you have a kero and oxygen tank but they are very small. Too small for a first stage booster. But in this first stage are your pumps which you use to cross tank LOTS of fuel down from your large second stage core (same pumps Spacex will use on their F9H)
Your large second stage has one kestrel engine but at stage separation it fuel tanks are only about a quarter full of fuel. So the kestrel pushes the long large core to orbit that can be used for stuff like building a space station wheel. And your engines can all be recovered with your small first stage grasshopper stile.
Wouldn’t that be a cheap easy way to build a cheap Von Braun gravity wheel now????
What’s the diameter of falcon?? How long a core could you get into Space using the same merlin d engines a falcon uses.
Looking at grasshopper, sure couldn’t help wondering how much it looks like a moon lander. Sure looks like Spacex has the jump on a moon lander to me lololol
Naaa I wont bore you with another what if lol, but what if using those wet dry cabin ideas you could get a hydrazine fueled hopper to the moon with fuel Naaa lol just a silly thought.
lololol
Sure seems like we could do lots of cool stuff in space with today’s technology without waiting a Decade for SLS heavy lift if we wanted to.
Spacex beats public Space Beyond Earth Orbit.
What y all think?????
I would feel a lot safer with a habitat module designed to be a habitat, or utilizing Bigelow Aerospace’s technology. Not much protection from an aluminum beer can.
Donald:
Ah, grasshopper, there is a way! Instead of covering a cryogenic tank destined for orbit with cheap spray-on foam, you cover it with the outer layers of Bigelow’s habitats. Insulation on the way up, meteor shield on orbit.
I call it the ‘stuffed animal method’ of utilizing tankage as habitat. It would be heavier than the cheap spray-on foam but the advantages far outweigh the mass penalty.
tinker
Thanks tinker I was going to type something like well you could design for it. Thanks.
And if your going to make a launcher to build stations you may want to square your tanks up lol. Hummm maybe bigger is in order to build your mars recycler lolol
No wait a decade or two we have to build SLS first lolol
When i was a kid at the dawn of the space age. I had many books with lots of pictures of NASAs cool new machines that promised a space future.
It is said that a pictures worth a thousand words.
Compare the picture at the top of this thread with the one in this articule
http://nextbigfuture.com/20…
And tell me, which one inspires you???
Oh come on DTARS. We know you are older than that!
Just kidding!!!!!1
Back when Robert Goddard and me use to build model rockets when we were kids. Lolol
I note that Dynetics, which has been populated with former MSFC higher ups, got three pieces of the pie. Imagine that!
Perhaps to retain a vestigial HLV keroLOX program (son of Jarvis?) post SLS cancellation?
I have changed my mind!!!!
I think NASA public Space and congress doing BEO with SLS is great idea!!!
It is perfect!!!
Let commercial do Leo while THEY DO BEO just as they said!!
Reason
If congress and NASA thinking they control BEO keeps them from messing with Spacex while they work on their recoverable reusable space vehicle, it is worth ever penny flushed to SLS!!!
“Kooks” watch them work!
I would add
Keep Congress and NASA’s managerial clowns the hell out of the way and let them work!
George,
If SLS goes with solid boosters for a manned launcher, which still looks quite possible, that might just be the best thing that could happen for commercial space, most of whom it seems are going with the safer liquid boosters. Maybe that’s NASA’s plan for pushing commercial launch — make SLS even dumber than it already is.
Steve
Any odds on whether SLS ever flies? I give 10 to 1.
Too high hamptonguy!
10 to 10.
SLS vs real productive rocket science
I don’t understand this list or what it means or the effect to the players in it???
Is this just a case of getting more companies moved up to the troth???
If companies get involved with a dead end no future program, isn’t that a bad thing????
I was thinking about the rate of change of the falcon family. After the falcon v 1.1 what will be next ??? Bigger shorter cores like the falcon X to get ready for the Merlin 2? By that point recoverability is worked out. Maybe leading to Tinkers recoverable oxygen tugs just as I said. Didn’t airplanes change greatly in their early days? Don’t they change pretty fast today?? Seems to me the whole spaceliner industry could evolve while Congress and NASA FOOL around with SLS!
I don’t know how much or if they should help with the important stuff or just stay out of the way?
I hope SLS gets canceled soon so that Space development can have a fighting chance. And these engineers can have a chance to work on projects that make a difference and show results.
I find the whole explore first thing to be just an expensive joke lol and I’m All for exploring lol
Out!!!! 🙂
“If companies get involved with a dead end no future program, isn’t that a bad thing????“
DTARS,
Some companies have become pretty much reduced to let’s do anything we can to keep this division’s people on the payroll until something real comes along for them to work on. And I don’t think we can really blame them for that, given the alternative.
Steve
I know Steve
And all that potential !
Ship of fools
noah,
Theer seems to be no way to stop Congress on this. So…
Steve
The grasshopper sure makes my heart sing Steve. :). I hope you are right!!!!!
Not so sure. Some parts of Congress are thinking of paying off ATK with a paltry “thank you for playing” contract, to exit the scene.
Some.
What is in doubt … does Orion get cancelled first? Or fly manned on uprated Delta IV Heavy (RS-68A)? Does ATK pushing too hard cause all of arsenal space to become “irrelevant space”?
Or does a repeat of CxP in SLS simply consume all budget for anything but LEO ISS?
I would have been happy with a Delta IV derived salutation with R-68A, these vehicles are flying now and cost because of low production rates
cross feed to the core.
A 7th proposal: give the money to SpaceX.