[meteorite-list] NASA'S Space Launch System Passes Major Agency Review, Moves to Preliminary Design

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Wed, 25 Jul 2012 12:25:39 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <201207251925.q6PJPd0h022062_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

July 25, 2012

Trent J. Perrotto
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0321
trent.j.perrotto at nasa.gov

Kimberly Henry
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-0034
kimberly.m.henry at nasa.gov

RELEASE: 12-256

NASA'S SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM PASSES MAJOR AGENCY REVIEW, MOVES TO PRELIMINARY DESIGN

WASHINGTON -- The rocket that will launch humans farther into space
than ever before passed a major NASA review Wednesday. The Space
Launch System (SLS) Program completed a combined System Requirements
Review and System Definition Review, which set requirements of the
overall launch vehicle system. SLS now moves ahead to its preliminary
design phase.

The SLS will launch NASA's Orion spacecraft and other payloads, and
provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low
Earth orbit.

These NASA reviews set technical, performance, cost and schedule
requirements to provide on-time development of the heavy-lift rocket.
As part of the process, an independent review board comprised of
technical experts from across NASA evaluated SLS Program documents
describing vehicle specifications, budget and schedule. The board
confirmed SLS is ready to move from concept development to
preliminary design.

"This new heavy-lift launch vehicle will make it possible for
explorers to reach beyond our current limits, to nearby asteroids,
Mars and its moons, and to destinations even farther across our solar
system," said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for the
Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA
Headquarters in Washington. "The in-depth assessment confirmed the
basic vehicle concepts of the SLS, allowing the team to move forward
and start more detailed engineering design."

The reviews also confirmed the SLS system architecture and integration
with the Orion spacecraft, managed by NASA's Johnson Space Center in
Houston, and the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program,
which manage the operations and launch facilities at NASA's Kennedy
Space Center in Florida.

"This is a pivotal moment for this program and for NASA," said SLS
Program Manager Todd May. "This has been a whirlwind experience from
a design standpoint. Reaching this key development point in such a
short period of time, while following the strict protocol and design
standards set by NASA for human spaceflight is a testament to the
team's commitment to delivering the nation's next heavy-lift launch
vehicle."

SLS reached this major milestone less than 10 months after the
program's inception. The combination of the two assessments
represents a fundamentally different way of conducting NASA program
reviews. The SLS team is streamlining processes to provide the nation
with a safe, affordable and sustainable heavy-lift launch vehicle
capability. The next major program milestone is the preliminary
design review, targeted for late next year.

The first test flight of NASA's Space Launch System, which will
feature a configuration for a 70-metric-ton (77-ton) lift capacity,
is scheduled for 2017. As SLS evolves, a three-stage launch vehicle
configuration will provide a lift capability of 130 metric tons (143
tons) to enable missions beyond low Earth orbit and support deep
space exploration.

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the
SLS program. Across the country NASA and its industry partners
continue to make progress on SLS hardware that will be integrated
into the final design. The RS-25 core stage and J-2X upper-stage
rocket engine in development by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga
Park, Calif., for the future two-stage SLS, will be tested at NASA's
Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The prime contractor for the
five-segment solid rocket boosters, ATK of Brigham City, Utah, has
begun processing its first SLS boosters in preparation for an initial
qualification test next year, ahead of their use for the first two
exploration missions. The Boeing Co. in Huntsville is designing the
SLS core stage, to be built at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in
New Orleans and tested at Stennis before being shipped to Kennedy.

For more information about the Space Launch System, including the
newest proposed rocket configurations, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/sls
        
-end-
Received on Wed 25 Jul 2012 03:25:39 PM PDT