![]() ![]() While those plans are finalized, SLS teams at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) are deep into their DAC evaluations, a key juncture towards the key Preliminary Design Review (PDR), scheduled for next year. However, with the rise of the Exploration Platform/Gateway plan during ongoing roadmap evaluations, there is a chance the EM-2 mission will be re-manifested, with the potential of a Block 1 “cargo” mission in 2019, directly related to the Platform’s construction, potentially to launch the large Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) hardware that will send the platform to EML2 on the far side of the Moon. Current manifest predictions place this mission a whole four years after EM-1. The Block 1 is also set to fly a second time, with the Exploration Mission -2 (EM-2) mission mimicking EM-1, except this time the mission would be crewed. In all, the SLS Block 1 will stand 320.9 feet tall with a Core Stage height of 212.2 feet. For Block 1, the ICPS will be a Delta Cryogenic Second Stage (DCSS). The Block 1 SLS configuration will include two possible additions depending on mission requirements: a Cargo Payload Adapter (CPA) for non-crewed payload flights or two possible payload adapters for Orion/MPCV missions with or without an ICPS (Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage). “Propulsion is provided by two five-segment PBAN solid rocket boosters and four (Pratt & Whitney/Rocketdyne) RS-25D liquid hydrogen (LH2)/liquid oxygen (LO2) core stage engines (donated from the SSP).” This validation flight is called Exploration Mission -1 (EM-1) and is likely to remain baselined.Īs stated in the SLSP (Space Launch System Program) Launch Vehicle Specification Rev-A document ( available for download on L2 – L2 Link), “The Block 1 SLS configuration (~70 metric ton) is comprised of a 27.6-foot nominal outer wall diameter (cryogenic pressure vessels excluding thermal protection system foam and flanges) core stage. SLS will begin life as a 70mt capable launch vehicle, tasked with a 2017 debut to loft an uncrewed Orion on a mission around the moon. Some people also claim a HLV isn’t even required for BEO missions, citing existing launchers and propellant depots as alternatives. While this SD HLV design continually won trade studies and evaluations throughout recent years, both before and after the fallout of the FY2011 Budget Proposal, some people claim there are more capable HLV designs – especially when they are not restricted by the 2010 Authorization Act guidelines. The law called for the use of Space Shuttle Program (SSP) and Constellation Program (CxP) hardware and experience, resulting in the Shuttle Derived Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (SD HLV) design becoming the Design Reference Vehicle (DRV). NASA’s new “monster rocket” is classed as a requirement for the Agency’s Beyond Earth Orbit (BEO) aspirations, baselined into NASA’s plans via the language of the 2010 Authorization Act that called for a HLV capable of “evolving” into a 130mt launcher. During this process, Boeing are also preparing to start actual production of SLS hardware, via the creation of thousands of production drawings that will be used by their machine shops to produce the vehicle’s core stage structure. Space Launch System (SLS) teams are over a month into their DAC-2 (Design Analysis Cycle), as they push the Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (HLV) towards the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) in 2013.
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