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September of 2011: NASA proposes
a new capability for human
exploration - a massive rocket,
the largest ever built, for a
variety of missions beyond low
earth orbit.The new heavy-lift
capability will carry humans
farther into space than ever
before, making human exploration
of the solar system a reality.
The Space Launch System is born.
So the SLS is a national
capability, not only will it
take humans farther than we've
ever been, it will enable
entirely new missions, scientific
missions, it'll take you there
faster it can take more, if
you have a multiple-mission
scenarios you can bunch those
into a single flight, saving
even more money.The key tenets
of the Space Launch System.
Program are safety, affordability
and sustainability. We want to
take our astronauts further than
we've ever gone before and bring
them home safely. We want to be
affordable, we know we live in
tough fiscal times and we want
to live within our means. And
we want to be sustainable - we
want to have a program that will
be around for the next generation
of children. We want to write the
next chapter�we want to inspire.
NASA's SLS team started work
immediately - using new methods
of creating designs, conducting
reviews and even ways to improve
scheduling and budget planning.
The initial designs of the SLS
show a powerful machine, a
rocket capable of carrying 70
metric tons for human spaceflight,
evolving to an even bigger rocket
capable of launching
130-metric-tons
to space. The program begins
with existing, proven propulsion,
using boosters much like the Space.
Shuttle program, but with even
more thrust. The five-segment
booster has been tested three
times and work is underway on
the flight qualified booster
getting ready for it's big test
next year at ATK in Utah.
The J-2X upper stage engine is
powering through testing at.
Stennis Space Center in
Mississippi. These firings
broke records and pushed this
new engine to its limits.
The venerable S-25 engine, built
by Pratt-Whitney Rocketdyne and
used as the space shuttle main
engines,
will power the SLS core stage.
The agency has 16 such engines in
inventory and new work is underway
to update the flight computer�
In order to feed these engines,
NASA called on the expertise at.
The Boeing Company to build the.
SLS Core Stage at the Michoud.
Assembly Facility in New Orleans.
Development welding is underway
and tooling is on order. Boeing
delivered an important part of
the infrastructure for the SLS
earlier than expected, when they
turned over test bed equipment
for the rocket's flight software.
Having the software test bed in
the software development facility
helped us get a jump on designing
our code�and we have to have
hardware to develop code on.
And it seems like the launch
is a long time in the future but
five years is not very far away
when your designing code of this
complexity. While swift progress
is being made on the initial
configuration, the SLS Advanced.
Development team is looking ahead
to enhance and upgrade future
designs of the heavy-lift vehicle.
The aim is to build a system that
will be upgradable and used for
decades, including the
development of more powerful.
Advanced Boosters. Proposals
have been selected to
help promote SLS affordability,
performance and block upgrades.
In the summer of 2012, the program
reached a critical milestone
with agency-level approval of
the System Requirements and.
System Definition Review.
Guiding the course of the program,
this milestone was a pivotal moment,
allowing SLS to move from concept
to design and target a preliminary
design review for next year.
With a basic design in place,
the program started working
closely with engineers at NASA's
wind tunnels to test the
aerodynamics of the rocket.
Using the expansive
facilities at both the Marshall.
Center and the Langley Research.
Center in Virginia, hundreds of
wind tunnel tests using multiple
configurations have been performed.
As we bring the vehicle together,
SLS works closely with the Orion.
Program at NASA's Johnson Space.
Center in Texas and the Ground.
Systems Development and Operations.
Program at NASA's Kennedy Space.
Center in Florida.
It actually takes all three to
launch astronauts into space.
You have to have the ground systems,
the rocket and the space craft.
Today the teams are working
together like a well oiled machine.
The launch facilities at Kennedy
include a mobile launcher and a
brand new firing room for the SLS.
The Orion Spacecraft, also built
at the Michoud Assembly Facility,
is well into development. Kennedy
is currently processing the test
module for its first flight in 2014
just a few years before SLS takes
its place on the launch pad. In the
meantime, the Orion Program
continues improving the
spacecraft, using water
landing tests and parachute drop
tests to expand their confidence
in the design. When Orion flies
for the first time, SLS will be
flight-testing hardware of its own:
The Spacecraft and Payload.
Integration adapter ring.
The engineers and world-class
machinists at the Marshall.
Space Flight Center are building
this section of the rocket, using
a one-of-a-kind milling tool.
The finished adapter ring will
mate the spacecraft to the Delta IV
stand-in for the SLS during Orion's
test flight in 2014, and to the
rest of the Space Launch System
in 2017.This Adapter Ring is being
designed once for both
applications as a part
of NASA's commitment to affordable
solutions for the human exploration
of space. What's important is that
we meet the schedule to support the.
Orion test flight. We have several
major milestones that we've already
passed through. We've had two design
reviews, so we're at a critical
design review maturity level.
So we are manufacturing the first
unit and, you know we are going to
beat the schedule�we are going to
deliver the hardware ahead of
schedule, we're going to support
the interface test and we're going
to be ready to fly come 2014.
We're moving forward with our eyes
on deep space and at the same time
we're humbled that we have the
opportunity to write the next
chapter of space exploration.
We're looking forward to taking
the next steps toward the future.
Each decision made in support of
the Space Launch System has been
carefully considered� contributing
critical technology and functional
knowledge to our nation's
exploration objectives.
NASA continues to expand
our knowledge of the universe.
The Space Launch System will
leverage our successes from the
past to help power the future
for generations to come.