Space Launch System: NASA Next Generation Rocket

NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) will transport humans beyond the reach of Earth's gravity, to the Moon, Mars and perhaps, someday, in the world. deep space. The first destination is the moon, where NASA plans to land a human mission in 2024.

The powerful new launcher is under development and will continue to evolve even after humans have flown away. Indeed, the rocket has a modular design consisting of interchangeable parts, which allows to vary the objectives of the mission and to improve the technology over time.

The launcher

The SLS consists of many elements that will evolve and vary depending on whether the vehicle carries a crew or cargo.

Motors, boosters and main stage

The first iterations of SLS will contain a pair of solid propellant rocket propellers capped with four RS-25 engines. Most of the engines planned for each launcher are Space Shuttle veterans who have undergone rigorous testing. According to NASA, "The RS-25 is one of the largest tested rocket engines in history, with more than 3,000 starts and more than a million seconds of ground and time tests. shooting in flight during 135 missions ".

The four liquid propellant engines at the base of each rocket, combined with solid propellant propellants, will propel the SLS into orbit during its 8-minute climb to space. Like the engines, solid propellant propellants have been qualified by the space shuttle program, although they have been modified to work with SLS. As technology evolves, solid propellant propellants will be replaced by advanced propellants.

The long and thin structure of the "rocket", called the main floor, rises to over 61 meters (200 feet) between boosters and will carry 2.76 million liters of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen in supercooling to power the engines. [Related: Sick Burn! NASA Fires Off Test of Next-Generation Rocket Engine]

The Orion spacecraft

NASA 's Orion crew module will transport the crews in space, although none of them will be on board during the first test mission. Building on more than half a century of research and development, the Orion module wants to be flexible enough to transport humans to various destinations.

The entire aircraft includes a crew and service module, a spacecraft adapter to connect the module to the powerful rockets below, as well as a new aircraft system. 39, launch interrupt.

Although Orion is relatively new, the probe has undergone rigorous testing to transport humans far from the Earth. The abandonment system, which will give the crew the opportunity to escape in case of emergency on the launch pad, has been successfully tested at the White Sands Missile Range, New Brunswick. -Mexico, in 2010. A series of tests confirmed Orion's ability to resist launch. , reentry and space flight in general. At sea and in the NASA Hydro Impact Basin, the agency tested the module's operation when it submerged in the ocean at the end of its mission.

Orion also underwent a series of parachute tests that ended in 2018. The capsule flew a test flight into low Earth orbit in December 2014 and is expected to fly again during a test mission called Mission-1 Exploration (EM-1).

(Image: © NASA)

A series of missions

Unlike previous human launching systems, SLS is designed to evolve and evolve over time. The vehicle includes several launch configurations that will transport cargo and crew into the darkness of space. The flexibility of the SLS system allows engineers to use a single concept today while adapting to future missions.

EM-1: To the moon (and back)!

At a height of more than 98 m (322 feet), the first SLS configuration of Block 1 will transport an Orion spacecraft unscrewed into a stable orbit beyond the moon, and then bring it home safely. The EM-1 involves traveling 64,000 kilometers beyond the moon – a trip of three to five days, longer than any other astronaut. The mission will test the integrated performance of the rocket, the Orion module and the ground support teams before the launch of humans. EM-1 will be the maiden voyage of SLS.

Although the first mission does not carry people, SLS will not be exactly empty. When launching the rocket, it will carry more than a dozen cubesats, which are small satellites – no bigger than a bread box – capable of collecting data by themselves.

"The first launch of SLS provides an excellent opportunity to collaborate with our international partners by providing attractions to cubes that can pursue independent science and technology missions while supporting our mutual goals of human exploration in deep space." "said Steve Creech, Acting Director of Spacecraft. Payload Integration and Office Evolution, said in a statement 2016.

The launch of the mission is scheduled for 2020; however, this target could be further reduced by technological advances.

EM-2: Lunar flight

The second mission, Exploration Mission-2 (EM-2), will follow a configuration similar to that of EM-1. This time, however, the Orion capsule will carry several astronauts into the region of space beyond the moon, in the region explored by the previous mission; this launch is scheduled for 2022.

(Image: © NASA / Bill Ingalls)

Block 1B

The next set of missions requires configuration of SLS Block 1B. This version will measure approximately 111 meters high and overlooks the historic Saturn V rocket that carried astronauts on the moon. In addition to carrying the Orion module, block 1B may contain exploration systems, such as a small housing module in deep space.

"The second SLS configuration, known as Block 1B, will spearhead the test phase of NASA's journey to Mars," Creech said. "The rocket will transport the crew and exploration systems tens of thousands of kilometers beyond the moon to demonstrate new capabilities that will then allow us to head for the red planet."

(Image: © Karl Tate, SPACE.com)

Or, the module could be exchanged for a payload configuration that can carry larger exploration systems or a scientific spacecraft instead of people. "While many people think of the space launch system in terms of human exploration, SLS could have wide application in many other areas, including space science," Creech said. in a 2014 statement.

"For missions on outer planets, for example, SLS could enable tasks that are impossible at the moment, such as sending larger science spaceships with more instruments to distant destinations with reduced transit times. "

These missions could include support for the proposed mission on Europa's frozen moon Jupiter. According to NASA, the transit time for the Europa Clipper could be reduced to less than half of what other launchers need.

"The potential use of SLS for science will further enhance the synergy between scientific exploration and human exploration," said John Grunsfeld, an astronaut and former deputy administrator for science at NASA's headquarters in Washington, in a statement. declaration. "SLS has the promise of enabling transformational science in our exploration of the solar system and the cosmos."

Block 2

NASA will consider using the Block 2 configuration as the primary means of transport for a human mission on Mars after astronauts have completed several missions in the deep space on the Moon. . The most advanced SLS configuration will surpass its predecessors to a gigantic height of 111 meters (365 feet).

"The space launch system could really change the game for space science," said Reggie Alexander, head of NASA's Advanced Concepts office, in a 2014 statement.

"For some missions, this is much easier and faster." A Mars return mission, for example, can be done with a single rocket instead of three, but for other destinations, SLS allows you to do things that we could not do Before dreaming – like collecting samples of Enceladus geysers, the moon of Saturn. "

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This article was last updated May 3, 2019 by Elizabeth Howell, a Space.com collaborator.