![\"NASA](\"https:\/\/wp-assets.futurism.com\/2019\/03\/nasa-sls-orion-commercial-rocket-300x158.png\")
<\/div>Private Ride<\/h2>
NASA’s several-billion-dollar Space Launch System (SLS) is on thin ice. The culprit: the enticingly low-cost and high-performance rockets of its private industry competitors.<\/p>
At a Senate hearing today<\/a>, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine suggested that NASA might use a commercial rocket to boost its Orion crew capsule around the Moon in 2020.<\/p> “We need to consider, as an agency, all options to accomplish that objective,” Bridenstine said of the first launch of its Orion crew capsule. “We’re talking about a rocket that’s taller than the Statue of Liberty with a fairing that can put really big objects into space — and into deep space.”<\/p> NASA’s SLS was supposed to use a massive two-stage rocket design to launch astronauts towards the Moon and even Mars. But when that will happen is hard to say.<\/p> “SLS is failing to meet its schedule,” Bridenstine said during the hearing.<\/p> NASA initially signed a contract with Boeing to build those two stages in 2012. The first planned uncrewed test flight was scheduled for December 2017. Next time window: June 2020 — but even that date is likely to change.<\/p> And that’s not to mention the fact that the SLS is grossly over budget. Conservative 2017 estimates pegged the cost for each launch at $1.5 to $2.5 billion<\/a>. Estimates for the total authorized budget of the SLS is $46 billion since its conception, according to Ars Technica<\/em><\/a>.<\/p> To put that into perspective: the White House budget proposal for all of NASA’s operations in 2020 is just $21 billion<\/a>.<\/p> Ditching the SLS altogether would be a huge admission of failure, but Bridenstine isn’t about to give up on NASA.<\/p> “The Space Launch System, SLS, the largest rocket that’s ever been built in American history, is a critical piece of what the United States of America needs to build,” Bridenstine said during the hearing.<\/p> READ MORE: <\/strong>NASA considers using a commercial rocket for upcoming trip around the Moon<\/a> [The Verge<\/em>]<\/a> More on the SLS: How Does NASA’s New Mega-Rocket Compare to the Falcon Heavy?<\/a><\/p> The post NASA Might Send Astronauts Around the Moon on Commercial Rocket<\/a> appeared first on Futurism<\/a>.<\/p> Original post: Private Ride NASA\u2019s several-billion-dollar Space Launch System (SLS) is on thin ice. The culprit: the enticingly low-cost and high-performance rockets of its private industry competitors Continue reading Delays<\/h2>
Over Budget<\/h2>
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NASA Might Send Astronauts Around the Moon on Commercial Rocket<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"