[meteorite-list] NASA's Space Launch System Completes Preliminary Design Review

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 1 Aug 2013 13:22:56 -0700 (PDT)
Message-ID: <201308012022.r71KMuhn013593_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

August 1, 2013

Rachel Kraft
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
rachel.h.kraft at nasa.gov

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

RELEASE 13-243
     
NASA's Space Launch System Completes Preliminary Design Review

NASA has achieved a major milestone in its effort to build the nation's next
heavy-lift launch vehicle by successfully completing the Space Launch System
(SLS) preliminary design review.

Senior experts and engineers from across the agency concluded Wednesday the
design, associated production and ground support plans for the SLS heavy-lift
rocket are technically and programmatically capable of fulfilling the launch
vehicle's mission objectives. NASA is developing the SLS and Orion spacecraft
to provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low-Earth
orbit, with the flexibility to launch spacecraft for crew and cargo missions,
including to an asteroid and Mars.

"The review had to be incredibly detailed, so our plans for vehicle
integration, flight software, test, verification and operations will result
in a safe, affordable and sustainable vehicle design," said Todd May, manager
of the SLS Program at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

This review concludes the initial design and technology development phase.
The next milestone in the continuing verification process is Key Decision
Point-C, in which NASA will grant the program authority to move from
formulation to implementation.

"The agency not only reviews the program internally, but also seeks help from
many external sources," said LeRoy Cain, head of the independent standing
review board for SLS. "There are several external NASA stakeholders and
organizations -- including Congress, the Office of Management and Budget, and
the public -- who require a thorough, truly independent look at these
programs as they transition through their lifecycle."

People from across the country, including experts on 11 different review
teams, participated in the design review process, which included analysis of
approximately 200 documents and 15 terabytes of data. NASA's industry
partners -- The Boeing Company of Chicago, ATK of Brigham City, Utah, and
Aerojet Rocketdyne of Sacramento, Calif. -- also contributed to this
successful checkpoint, and will continue to work to meet all program
milestones.

In July 2012, the SLS Program completed a combined system requirements review
and system definition review, which set requirements of the overall launch
vehicle system. That successful completion confirmed the SLS was ready to
move from concept to design. All element-level preliminary design reviews for
the SLS core stage, boosters, engines and spacecraft and payload integration
have been completed successfully.

"In two short years from the first announcement of the Space Launch System,
we are at a milestone that validates the detailed design and integration of
the system," said Dan Dumbacher, deputy associate administrator for the Human
Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. "You can feel the momentum of
the workforce as we produce test hardware today. We are creating a national
capability, and we will get this country, and the world, exploring deep
space."

The initial 70-metric-ton version of SLS will stand 321 feet tall, provide
8.4 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, and carry 154,000 pounds of payload.
The rocket is scheduled for its first mission, Exploration Mission 1, in 2017
at which time it will launch an uncrewed Orion spacecraft. The mission's goal
is to demonstrate the integrated system performance of the SLS rocket and
spacecraft before a crewed flight in 2021.

The SLS will be modified from the 70-metric-ton version?? into the most
powerful rocket ever built, a 130-metric-ton version, which will be capable
of lifting 286,000 pounds. NASA plans to engage industry peers to further
refine the 130-metric-ton design to support any destination, any payload and
any mission to deep space.

For more information on the SLS preliminary design review, visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/17m4zFe

For more information on SLS, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/sls

-end-
Received on Thu 01 Aug 2013 04:22:56 PM PDT