Tag: SLS
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Boeing complete SLS Pathfinder Tank as MAF ET operations end
While the political side of the Space Launch System (SLS) continues to be bogged down by delays and arguments, the engineering side of the vehicle is picking up, most notably on the core stage. With Boeing’s “Pathfinder” tank completed ahead of schedule, External Tank tooling is being unwrapped for checks, ironically as ET operations officially…
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NASA interest in an interplanetary highway supported by Propellant Depots
NASA’s Human Architecture Team (HAT) is actively working on a roadmap towards evolvable demonstrations of Propellant Depots – with a potential goal of setting up an “interplanetary highway” to enable low cost exploration. With proposals being sought, industry sources point to a small, 30 metric ton capacity, Centaur derived depot as an initial leading candidate. Propellant…
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Preliminary NASA plan shows Evolved SLS vehicle is 21 years away
A new schedule, created by NASA, has provided a “preliminary, budget restricted” manifest which places the first flight of the fully evolved Space Launch System (SLS) in the year 2032. The information includes details on the chosen configuration and hardware, but provides a depressing schedule, with a flight rate of just one mission per year,…
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SLS configuration nears decision point – Two-phase approach rejected
A decision on the configuration of the Space Launch System (SLS) Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (HLV) is just weeks away, as final evaluations take place into a “staged evolution of a single heavy launcher”, after NASA’s leadership rejected the two-phase approach, which would have resulted in an open competition for the Beyond Earth Orbit (BEO)…
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SLS planning focuses on dual phase approach opening with SD HLV
Uncertainty over the configuration of the Space Launch System (SLS) Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (HLV) may soon come to a close – at least for the interim – with a plan solidifying for using a 70mt Shuttle Derived (SD) HLV to perform a handful of flights, while another “open competition” for the main “Phase 2”…
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Second Guessing NASA VSE
Five Alternative Visions for Space Exploration. As concerns grow in some sectors over NASA’s Vision for Space Exploration, a new phenomenon has taken hold: the creation of detailed, alternative lunar exploration plans by outsiders to NASA. ARES1 / ORION FORUM ===== ARES V / MTV (Mars Transport Vehicle) FORUM **SPECIFIC DIRECT DEBATE PAGES** From…