It’s a make-or-break moment for NASA’s next mega rocket: the Space Launch System.
Why it matters: The rocket – about 10 years in development and billions of dollars over budget – is expected to launch for the first time this year. The success is key to NASA’s plans to take people and payloads to distant space destinations such as the Moon.
- “This is the year the SLS has to show it can work,” said Casey Dreier of the Planetary Society. “It better do something. It’s been 10 years now. “
Driving the news: NASA is expected to host one of the largest tests of the SLS to date on January 17.
- That test will see the four engines of the rocket’s core fire without flying.
- The rocket will light up for no less than eight minutes to see how the booster behaves during a real launch.
What’s next: The SLS is expected to launch into space for the first time in November 2021, sending an unscrewed Orion capsule around the Moon and back to Earth.
But but, but … Whether that will be done on time remains to be seen.
- According to a report from the Government Accountability Office released last month, there is not much margin in the planning for possible delays and fixes that could arise as a result of the test firing or other issues.
- If the first flight is of the SLS and Orion delayed, it could cascade effect on NASA’s future lunar missions, including the planned 2024 manned moon landing, said William Russell, one of the authors of the GAO report.
Context: Congress ordered NASA to build the SLS in 2010.
- Today, commercial space companies – including Blue Origin and SpaceX – are working to develop rockets that can launch astronauts and payloads to the Moon and beyond at a price lower than the cost of an SLS.
- Some have suggested that NASA should buy a ride to the Moon aboard a commercial rocket instead of the SLS, at least initially.
The other side: Proponents of the SLS program say that even with these commercial heavy transport missiles expected to come online, NASA still needs its own launch vehicle to meet its unique needs as a reconnaissance agency.
- The entire system – including SLS and Orion – is built to work together, so swapping a different kind of missile isn’t practical at this stage of development, Dreier said.
- The SLS program has also returned much-needed jobs to NASA and the contractors – Boeing, Aerojet Rocketdyne and Northrop Grumman – responsible for building and testing the missile.
It comes down to: NASA’s future plans for deep space exploration depend on the success of the SLS – and soon.