Bush’s former NASA Administrator Michael Griffin says Obama’s Space Launch System ‘next essential step’: guest opinion, Huntsville Times “The SLS vehicle design materialized from an extensive, unbiased set of NASA technical studies which compared all possible scenarios, with a focus on efficiency and budget constraints.” Keith’s note: “Unbiased”, eh Mike? Nothing about “Apollo on Steroids” using Ares 1-X etc which also arose from what you call “an extensive, unbiased set […]

NASA Solicitation: Space Launch System RS-25 Core Engine “In developing the SLS, the Act directed the Administrator to utilize, to the extent practicable, existing contracts, investments, workforce, industrial base, and capabilities from the Space Shuttle Program (SSP), Orion, and Ares I projects. This includes SSP-derived components and Ares I components that draw extensively on SSP heritage propulsion systems, including liquid fuel engines, external tank or tank-related capability, and solid rocket […]

NASA’s Plans to Modify the Ares I Mobile Launcher in Support of the Space Launch System, NASA OIG “The OIG found that NASA’s decision to modify the Ares I Mobile Launcher is technically feasible and the most cost-effective option for launching at least the initial versions of the SLS vehicles. However, further assessment of planned modifications to the Mobile Launcher will be needed as the SLS continues to evolve and […]

NASA Solicitation: Space Launch System Stages Acquisition “NASA has selected a launch vehicle architecture that includes a large cryogenic (LOX/LH2) Core Stage, an Upper Stage when needed for higher performance missions, high thrust Boosters (initially, using those developed for the Ares I vehicle) for liftoff thrust, using either 3, 4, or 5 RS-25 engines on Core Stage, and using 1, 2, or 3 J-2X engines on Upper Stage. While the […]

NASA’s New Space Launch System Announced – Destination TBD, SpaceRef “Late last night and early this morning NASA, Congress, the White House – and the media – were all a buzz with the sudden announcement – that there would be an “announcement”. After months of subpoenas, contentious hearings, foot dragging, posturing, leaks, and press conferences, NASA, White House, and Congress had finally come to an agreement as to what the […]

Sen. Hutchison, Sen. Nelson Issue Statement on Campaign to Undermine America’s Manned Space Program “Rather than announce these results and move forward with development, the administration’s budget office has kept the independent cost report under wraps. Instead, a wildly inflated set of NASA cost numbers was invented, based on an imaginary “acceleration” of SLS development. Under these contrived numbers, which were leaked in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, development costs were […]

Rocket man: Richard Shelby pushes NASA funds, Politico “Republican Sen. Richard Shelby has been one of Barack Obama’s most persistent critics, accusing the president of putting the country on a road to financial ruin with deficits as far as the eye can see. But his demands to slash government programs tend to stop at the Alabama state line. Here in his home state, Shelby has been pressuring the Obama administration […]

NASA needs the go-ahead for a clearly defined mission (editorial), Huntsville Times “SLS is not a paper rocket,” Steve Cook, director of space technology at Dynetics, said Friday at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. Cook guided the audience through a power point presentation showing work that has already been done over the last six years under different program names. Cook presented slides of boosters, engines, test firings, and core […]

Former NASA boss Mike Griffin says no new rocket until a new president “Panelists were less positive on when NASA will get the green light to build the rocket. Views ranged from “we’re getting closer” to “it’s a brutal time for budgets and it’s not going to get any easier” to a flat prediction that it won’t come until the Obama administration goes. That assessment came from former NASA administrator […]

Former NASA chief Griffin now wants to save the shuttle, Houston Chronicle “In his e-mail, Griffin writes: “At this point I’m in agreement with Dr. Kraft … In a world of limited budgets, I was willing to retire the shuttle as the price of getting a follow-on system that could allow us to establish a manned lunar base. Not that my opinion matters, but I see no sense in retiring […]