When the space shuttle Columbia burned up with the loss of seven lives in 2003, Nasa was aware that they needed a new way to get into space. The solution was the so-called “Constellation programme”. It was President George W. Bush who vouched for the program. Then it was not just about getting American astronauts into space, but back to the moon. When President Barack Obama was served estimates of how much it would actually cost, he stopped the entire project. BIG STUFF: The program President George W. Bush approved had two different rockets. The only thing that ended up flying was the smallest, the Ares I. It got one ride. Photo: NASA SLS is born The new lunar rocket is called SLS. It stands for “Space Launch System”. It was quickly renamed the “Senate Launch System” by critics. Several powerful politicians in the US Congress were, to put it mildly, not on the team when “Constellation” was cancelled. They had Nasa centers and industries in their home states that were directly affected. They got through a law that required Nasa to build what was to become SLS. It was a successor to the components to be used in “Constellation”. THE PRESSURE ON: The current head of Nasa, Bill Nelson. When Obama wanted to stop the moon program, Nelson was one of the powerful politicians who opposed it. Then he represented Florida, the state where the rockets are launched from. Photo: John Raoux / AP What Obama Wanted At the time President Obama canceled “Constellation”, the private company SpaceX was ready to launch its reusable Falcon 9 rocket. A number of other serious private players were also working on space programs. Obama wanted the private sector to provide services to Nasa. At the same time, the organization was to develop technology that could make space travel safer and more affordable. It was a kind of compromise. The powerful politicians were allowed to keep SLS and the spacecraft Orion. The private sector received some funding over the Nasa budget to be able to deliver services in the future. BIG PLANS: Younger versions of Elon Musk and Barack Obama. The photo was taken in 2010 when the president wanted the private sector to sell services to Nasa. Photo: Alex Brandon / AP What SLS is SLS is called by the critics “technology from the 1970s”. – It was as if Nasa was ordered to print newspapers in a world with high-speed broadband, writes the renowned space commentator Eric Berger. A space rocket simply consists of engines and tanks. The engines get SLS from the retired space shuttles. It has four engines, all of which have been used repeatedly on space shuttles. The two large booster rockets are extended versions of the booster rockets used by the space shuttles. The tanks are slightly larger versions of the tanks the space shuttles had strapped to their bellies. MUCH OF THE SAME: The space shuttle was launched for the last time in 2011. The external tank, booster rockets and engines are more than traceable in the new moon rocket SLS. Photo: PIERRE DUCHARME / Reuters Everything gets thrown away SpaceX has so far launched its reusable rocket 172 times. At the same time, the company is developing the much larger reusable rocket Starship. The first launch to space is expected this year, said founder Elon Musk in Stavanger, Monday. Of everything that was on launch pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center on Monday morning this week, almost nothing is coming back. In fact, the entire SLS is thrown into the sea just minutes after takeoff. The only thing that survives the trip to the moon is the Orion spacecraft on top. The vessel itself will not be used again, but the plan is to reuse some particularly valuable parts. LITTLE LEFT: This is the only thing that returns to earth. Only parts of the Orion spacecraft will be used again. Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP Enormous costs SLS was supposed to be ready for its first launch in 2016. Development problems have cost time and a lot of money. It was previously estimated that the development costs over ten years have been 23 billion dollars. Another way to look at it is what it costs for each launch. Nasa itself stated earlier this year that the real cost of each of the first four launches is 4.1 billion dollars. At the same time, Nasa stated that the total costs until 2025 will be 93 billion dollars. ELON MUSK: SpaceX builds versions of Starship more or less on an assembly line. It is likely that versions of this spacecraft will have been launched dozens of times before the next SLS takes off. Photo: VERONICA CARDENAS / Reuters Can’t reach the moon without SpaceX The SLS rocket will not be able to land people on the moon. A separate landing craft is required. Nasa has not received enough money to develop this vessel. Such a vessel is exactly what SpaceX is testing out now. Starship is built to be able to land on both the moon and the planet Mars. The company has received a contract from Nasa, just as President Obama had ambitions for. ON THE MOON: This is what Nasa thinks it will look like when the spacecraft from SpaceX lands Americans on the moon again for the first time. Photo: Nasa The plan now is to use a special lunar version of the Starship. It will meet Orion in orbit around the moon. The astronauts will move over and land on the moon. The Starship will take them back to Orion. The first trip to the lunar surface will be the third trip by SLS. Nasa believes it could happen at the end of 2025.
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The rocket Obama didn’t want – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
