SLS Just Lost One Of Its Big Selling Points
NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for the Europa Clipper Mission
“NASA has selected Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, California, to provide launch services for Earth’s first mission to conduct detailed investigations of Jupiter’s moon Europa. The Europa Clipper mission will launch in October 2024 on a Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The total contract award amount for launch services is approximately $178 million.”
Keith’s note: The White House estimated that the cost of a SLS launch for Europa Clipper was in the range of $2 billion. The SpaceX Falcon Heavy choice saves virtually all of that – even though it was still in an imaginary outyear budget. Meanwhile, the whole SLS promotional rationale i.e. that it can do everything everywhere bigger and faster – and that space/planetary science folks should love it as a result – is falling apart with this announcement. And oh yes: Psyche was already manifested on a Falcon Heavy so the confidence in that launch vehicle – the most powerful rocket that is now flying – is simply growing. And the SpaceX Starship will soon blast the Artemis program of record paradigm apart as well. As far as the rationale for SLS being a part of a multi-decades-long program of lunar, Martian, and solar system exploration goes: Tick tock.
– Surprise: SLS Will Cost 30% More Than The Last Big Cost Increase, earlier post
– Congress Uses Legal Snark To Ask NASA About SLS And Europa, earlier post
– Babin Requests Information on Europa Clipper Mission and SLS Use, earlier post
– NASA OIG Follow-up to May 2019 Audit of Europa Mission: Congressional Launch Vehicle Mandate, earlier post
– Europa Clipper Mission Confirmed, earlier post
– GAO Report On NASA: Things Cost More And Take Longer, earlier post
– Moon 2024 Goal Delays SLS Availability For Europa Clipper, earlier post
Keith is exactly right!
For the short term: It means with the flight proven Falcon Heavy the Europa Clipper mission will be less likely to be continually delayed and then eventually cancelled.
For the long term: It means it looks increasingly good for Space X – especially with Starship – and it looks increasingly poor for SLS.
As Keith summarized, “Tick tock!”
I am both delighted and pleasantly surprised by NASA’s courage in doing both this plus the Space X lunar contract.
It isn’t clear NASA will get to spend the money this saves on something else. The money for a SLS launch wasn’t in the budget and would have had to have been in the 2022-2024 budgets. Congress may simply decide not to give NASA that $1.7 or so billion, as opposed to giving it to NASA to do something else.
Absolutely true!
For me the important thing is Space X is rising and SLS rightfully is finally declining.
Congress may simply decide not to give NASA that $1.7 or so billion, as opposed to giving it to NASA to do something else.
I don’t think that’s a rationale for wasting money.
Here’s hoping a certain newly-minted astronaut won’t object.
Mr. Bezos can object all he likes. But he has no interest in this selection, it isn’t as if Blue Origin has a vehicle capable of satisfying the NASA requirements (getting a 6065 kg payload to a C3 of 42 km^2/s^2.) The courts simply throw out lawsuits by people who have no interest or involvement in the issue. That’s what legal standing is all about.
Given the recent NLS chart, I’m sure New Glenn can’t launch that mass to Europa. Much weaker than I thought.
The New Glenn become viable for outer system mission if a third stage is added. Could be as simple as using the 5 meter diameter DCSS upper stage from the Delta IV.
Don’t think any of the previously launched missions to Jupiter and beyond uses a 2 stage launcher. Which the current New Glenn is.
You mean will be. It doesn’t exist yet. It’s a pity Europa Clipper isn’t going on SLS, but clearly understandable. SLS looks increasingly like old hardware with nowhere to go. Still I’d still like to see at least the test article launch.
Blue ruled out the 3rd stage in January, 2019. Not saying they can’t rule it back in, but as it is getting 2 stages off the ground may not happen until 2023.
This one?
https://twitter.com/jeff_fo…
New Glenn’s payload falls off rather quickly with higher C3. I think it’s because the second stage has to make its own way after staging relatively early so the booster can land…by the time it reaches the point where Atlas V or Vulcan would stage, it has a lot of empty tank to lug around. The Falcon 9/Heavy also stages relatively early, but uses dense propellants and has a really high mass ratio to start with. I wonder how New Glenn would do with a similarly sized but higher-density methalox upper stage…
Blue is working on a reusable NG CH4 stainless steel ? upper stage called “Jarvis.”
I haven’t heard that Jarvis is CH4-fueled, but immediately thought it might be for the reasons shown in that graph. Also should help with long-endurance missions where boiloff is a limiting factor. BO’s at least professing an interest in lunar missions where that would be an issue.
Are you a ware that in order for Falcon Heavy to get Clipper to the Jovian system on the optimal path , it will use a third stage…a standard Star-48 solid rocket kickbooster ? This in order to keep Clipper from having to do a sunward flyby of Venus for a gravity assist. If we’re sending a probe to investigate the icy moons of the outer solar system , it is counter intuitive to have to add more heat shielding to Clipper and add a couple years to the outbound trajectory. By using the Star 48 kick motor, all that goes away and we have our first 3.5 stage Falcon Heavy !
No need for the Star-48 for the Europa Clipper mission. The Falcon Heavy have enough performance for the Mars and the Earth gravity assist trajectory.
Given a choice between a $2billion unproven vehicle and a $180 million vehicle with one of the best track records flying, would anyone in their right minds select SLS?
Here’s hoping a certain newly-minted astronaut won’t object.