On a happier note, this is great news for America's long term benefit, national interest merely only just as it relates to not having to pay the $60 million fee for every astronaut ferried to the space station by the Russkies.
NASA, I salute your dedication in your efforts to keeping the US in the forefront of space technology in the national interest. At least there's one Govt. organization not turning on it s own people, doing what it was designed to accomplish.
Are the MUSLIMS building it??? Remember when Obama came in he said that NASA’s main job was to make Muslims feel PROUD of themselves!!! OMG.
There could be 3 private companies putting people into space before NASA does.
“At the moment, even getting off the ground would be progress: since the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011, NASA has been left without any domestic capability to launch American astronauts into space; instead it has been purchasing rides for them aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft at high cost. “
Another example of the decline of America under Obama.
Doesn’t the phrase “is building” mean that the actual building of the rocket is in progress? I didn’t catch that from the article, other than testing of pre-existing components. Never mind the fact that the original intent of the space shuttle was to get NASA away from using single-use rockets and towards reusable space vehicles.
Still using monomethyl hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide?
Very hazardous oxidizer. Breathing vapors can form nitric acid in lungs.
First test flight in 5 years for $7 billion? Bull. Maybe by 2022 at a cost of $15 billion. If you want to get back into space then go to SpaceX or some other private company. They will do it quicker, faster, and cheaper than NASA.
This story likely intended to troll for votes in FL.
I’m curious. Where do we get the billions in funds for this? We are totally broke.
An easlier vrsion of this story mentioned it will carry the new capsule. However the capsule will have pre-sabotaged heat shield - holes will be punched in the tiles to simulate what would happen when and if micrometorites hit it.
Natually, the capsule will fail and that will be the end of that.
NASA is known for paper spacecraft.
/johnny
Truthfully, an Earth ground to Mars ground and back mission is a lot harder in a single vehicle.
A better means is to first assemble a “planetary shuttle” in space, basically a large engine and fuel tank which is filled in orbit. Then, when the Mars destined spaceship gets into Earth orbit, it is refilled with fuel, but then attached to the shuttle which will take it to Mars orbit and back. The shuttle itself never lands.
It would take perhaps 8 missions to get the orbital setup arranged. Four or five of the missions would take large modular parts of the shuttle and its fuel into orbit, where they would be assembled. The last two would be to take a load of fuel up, and then the Mars ship.
Top off the Mars ship, attach it to the shuttle, and away it goes.
Importantly, the first Mars mission should not have humans, but robots on board. Specifically tunneling robots that would burrow into a cliff face to prepare a tunnel habitat for the eventual arrival of the astronauts.
Having a place to stay when they arrive would mean the astronauts could carry a lot more water, food, fuel and equipment. And when they left, they would have improved the site so that the mission after that can build on their success.
If they are not conducting engine static firings and test launches, about oh, now... They probably are not going to make their launch target date.
http://spaceref.com/sls/using-jedi-mind-tricks-to-sell-nasas-next-big-rocket.html
Yawn
Rebaseline, rebudget, recompete...
See ya in a decade, won’t fly until then...if at all
I'd prefer multiple private companies competing for the market, and for NASA to stay out.
We’re sending Michelle Obama into space????
Leave it to Obama to return even our space program to the 60s.
Aerojet - Rocketdyne is building this rocket.