NASA could fly the capsule of Orion's crew around the moon in a commercial rocket

NASA plans to use a commercial rocket to launch its Orion crew capsule around the moon next year, instead of the multi-billion dollar future space launch system (SLS). NASA's director, Jim Bridenstine, launched the idea for the first time today at a Senate hearing. The change may occur as it is increasingly likely that the SLS will not be ready to fly the crew capsule by June 2020.

Bridenstine argued that NASA should honor its commitment to send the Orion crew capsule around the Moon by next year. One way to do this would be to use a rocket other than the SLS. "As an organization, we need to look at all the options to achieve that goal," Bridenstine said at the hearing. "Some of these options would include launching the Orion crew capsule on a commercial rocket."

NASA has long been considering sending the Orion crew capsule on a three-week trip around the moon as part of a mission called Exploration Mission 1, or EM-1. This flight is expected to be the first launch of the SLS, which has been in development for a decade and will be the most powerful rocket available once it is complete. But the target date for EM-1 has always been delayed due to technical problems and cost overruns related to the rocket. At one point, NASA was targeting 2017 for the flight, but the agency is now working towards June 2020. NASA officials recently admitted they were reassessing the date of 2020 because the rocket would probably not be ready for the flight next year.

Bridenstine mentioned this planned date change at today 's hearing before the Senate, which explained how the United States could maintain its dominance in space. "We now better understand how difficult this project is and that it will take some time," he said of SLS's development.

Image: NASA

However, Bridenstine noted that no current commercial rocket has the extreme power required to launch both the Orion and its European Service Module, a cylindrical hardware part that provides support and support for the task. feeding to the capsule during the flight, around the Moon. "The challenge is that we do not have a rocket at the moment that could launch Orion and the European Service Module around the moon," said Bridenstine. "This rocket does not exist … That's what the SLS is about."

Instead, NASA plans to launch EM-1 in two launches with two heavy commercial vehicles. A rocket would launch together Orion and European Service Module, placing them in orbit. Another rocket would then launch an upper stage, a rocket equipped with an engine capable of providing enough power to propel the capsule and module to the moon. The upper floor would dock with Orion and the module in orbit, to complete the mission.

Bridenstine has not mentioned the rockets considered for the post, but there are currently two heavy lift vehicles in the United States that can launch large quantities of cargo in orbit. These include the SpaceX Falcon Heavy, which debuted last year, and the Delta IV Heavy, manufactured by United Launch Alliance.

However, for all this to happen by 2020, we still need great technical prowess. On the one hand, the Orion capsule does not have the ability to dock with anything in orbit yet. "By June 2020, we will have to make it a reality," Bridenstine said of the mooring. However, he noted that the use of a commercial vehicle is ideal because these rockets are already available, unlike the SLS. "We currently have amazing capabilities that we can use commercially to achieve that goal," said Bridenstine.

Nor would it be the first time that Orion would get into a utility vehicle. In 2014, a Delta IV Heavy rocket launched the capsule during a four-hour trip into an extended orbit around the Earth, as part of an experimental flight called Exploration Flight Test-1.

Image: NASA

The switch to a commercial rocket for EM-1 would be another blow for the SLS, which has been strongly criticized for its budget overrun and slowness to develop. It is estimated that NASA has spent $ 14 billion to develop this vehicle. And even if it will be a powerful rocket, it will not be as capable as other vehicles currently on the market. For example, the Falcon Heavy is capable of placing up to 140,700 pounds (63.8 tonnes) in a low Earth orbit, while the SLS will be able to place 209,000 pounds (95 tonnes) in the same area of ​​the Earth. 'space.

In addition, the future of the SLS has become even more uncertain this week with the release of the President's budget request. In the application, the administration has requested the halt in the development of the second version of the SLS that NASA was planning to build, a version that would make the vehicle even more powerful. By canceling this upgrade, the SLS will no longer be able to boast of the incredible strength that NASA has been touting for a long time. The power of the SLS is perhaps the biggest asset of the vehicle.

Bridenstine said during the hearing that NASA would decide soon it was going to operate this massive shift for EM-1. "I think it can be done, sir, in the next two weeks, and every moment counts," he told Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS). "Because I want to be clear: NASA has never respected launch dates and I'm trying to change that."

Despite this change, Bridenstine maintained that the SLS was still needed for the future of NASA's space efforts. "The space launch system, SLS, the largest rocket ever built in American history, is a vital part of what the United States needs to build," he said.