Senators Disagree On SLS Approach, Aviation Week “On June 14, Administrator Charles Bolden selected and sent to the White House for confirmation his final choice for the SLS reference design. He essentially kept the January plan, but with a new wrinkle–a competition for a liquid-fueled strap-on that would make the SLS “evolvable” to meet the congressional requirement of an at least 130-metric-ton (286,600-lb.) lifting capability. One likely competitor for the […]

NASA Heavy-Lift Assumptions Questioned, Aviation Week “An independent analysis by Booz Allen Hamilton of NASA’s plans to develop the heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS) raises questions about the cost assumptions the agency is using in its own estimates of what it will cost to build the big new rocket. “Due to unjustified, sometimes substantial future cost savings, the team views each program estimate as optimistic,” Booz Allen evaluators tell NASA […]

Sen. Hutchison Calls on NASA to Announce SLS Design Immediately – Don’t Allow Layoffs to Occur Next Week “Today NASA is scheduled to formally receive the independent cost assessment for the Space Launch System (SLS) that was requested by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). I expect this independent assessment will confirm what myself and the NASA technical staff have known for many months – that the SLS plan […]

NASA heavy-lift rocket supporters wonder why their project isn’t moving “In my opinion, NASA’s SLS program is stalled because the White House doesn’t really want to do it,” former NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said Friday. Griffin, who led NASA during the previous rocket program that Obama killed, has been a persistent critic of NASA’s current direction. Griffin is now an eminent scholar at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. “You […]

Senator Hutchison Calls for Immediate Action on Space Launch System “No one questions the need to ensure the best understanding of program costs. We do that every year on an ongoing basis with every major NASA program, as we set spending levels in our annual budget. There is simply no need to defer announcing the vehicle design decision while awaiting yet another cost review. “To do so only increases the […]

House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Hearing: A Review of NASA’s Space Launch SystemHearing Charter “The original intent of the hearing was to examine NASA’s selection of a heavy-lift launch system (“Space Launch System”) that will be used to launch future crew and cargo flights beyond low Earth orbit. Members would have had an opportunity to ask questions regarding cost, schedule, capabilities, and justification for the selected design. However, on […]

NASA’s New Upper Stage Rocket Engine Ready For Testing, NASA “An upper stage engine is essential to making space exploration outside low-Earth orbit a reality,” said Mike Kynard, manager of the J-2X upper stage engine project at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. “The J-2X goes beyond the limits of its historic predecessor and achieves higher thrust, performance, and reliability than the J2. We are thrilled to have […]

NASA’s uncertain future: New rocket design in works, but its mission is unclear, Orlando Sentinel “I don’t think we need it. I don’t think we can afford to operate it. I think it will be rarely used and expensive to maintain,” said Alan Stern, a former NASA associate administrator. “The most likely possibility is that it [the rocket] is unfortunately going to collapse under its own weight in a couple […]

Letter to Charles Bolden from Senators Feinstein and Boxer Re: Sole Source for the Space Launch System “In this time of constrained budgets, it would be inexcusible to funnel billions of taxpayer dollars into a non-competitive sole-source contract for the new Space Launch System. By allowing a competitive process, NASA could realize hundreds of millions of dollars in annual savings, and billions in savings over the life of the program. […]

Teledyne Brown Engineering and Aerojet to Form Strategic Alliance to Build Rocket Engines “Under the agreement, the companies will pursue contracts for the manufacture of liquid rocket engines for NASA through the Space Launch System program as well as for other customers. It is anticipated that as a result of this work, a potential 1,400 additional jobs could be brought to the Northern Alabama and California areas.” Teledyne Brown, Aerojet […]