July 15, 2012

Image Caption: Artist concept shows NASA’s Space Launch System rising from a launchpad. Credit: NASA/MSFC

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports Your Universe Online

NASA reports that it has selected six proposals to improve the cost, dependability and performance of an advanced booster for the Space Launch System (SLS), a heavy-lift rocket that will provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit.

For the next phase, engineering demonstrations and risk reduction concepts for SLS will be developed by the awardees. Individual awards will vary with a total NASA investment of as much as $200 million.

The initial SLS heavy-lift rocket begins with the proven hardware, technology and capabilities we have today and will evolve over time to a more capable launch vehicle through competitive opportunities, said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for the Human Exploration Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

While the SLS team is making swift progress on the initial configuration and building a solid baseline, we also are looking ahead to enhance and upgrade future configurations of the heavy lift vehicle. We want to build a system that will be upgradable and used for decades, Gerstenmaier added.

Designed to be easily used for launching spacecraft, including NASAs Orion multipurpose vehicle, for crew and cargo missions SLS will enable NASA to meet the presidents goal of sending humans to an asteroid by 2025 and to Mars in the 2030s. The initial SLS design will use two five-segment solid rocket boosters close to the solid rocket boosters that helped power the space shuttle to orbit. The evolved SLS vehicle will require an advanced booster with significant increase in thrust from any existing U.S. liquid or solid boosters.

According to NASA, proposals selected for contract negotiations are:

Subscale Composite Tank Set, Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation Aerospace Systems

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