International Space News & Discussion

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[size="3"][url="http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2456540.ece"]A push farther out into solar system[/url] The Hindu, September 15, 2011

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[floatright][/floatright]NASA has unveiled plans for a massive new launcher capable of powering manned space flights well beyond low-Earth orbit and ultimately to Mars.



NASA chief Charles Bolden made the announcement on Wednesday of the design for the Space Launch System (SLS), which the space agency touted as the most powerful rocket since the Saturn V rocket put U.S. astronauts on the Moon.



“The next chapter of America's space exploration story is being written today,” said Mr. Bolden. The launcher, which will take until 2017 to build and cost an estimated $35 billion, will fill a gap in U.S. manned flight programme created by the retirement of the last U.S. space shuttle in July after 30 years of service.



But NASA said it would be far more powerful, capable of carrying much larger payloads eventually to Mars.



Still, the launcher borrows heavily from the space shuttle, said a former officer. .



For instance, the first stage of the new launcher will use the shuttle's cryogenic engine fuelled with a mix of hydrogen and oxygen kept at very low temperatures, he told AFP.



The system will be topped with a capsule initially capable of carrying into space payloads of 70 to 100 metric tonnes, and expanded over time to carry up to 130 metric tonnes.



“The SLS will carry human crews beyond low-Earth orbit in a capsule named the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle,” NASA said.



The first test launch is scheduled for 2017 followed by manned flights in 2021.



NASA could use it for a mission to an asteroid in 2025. NASA has indicated that it expects to send astronauts around Mars before eventually landing on the red planet, but not before 2030.

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