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NASA Opens Door to Possibly Lowering SLS Cost Using Blue Origin's Engines

posted by martyb on Monday December 18 2017, @01:56PM   
from the still-would-be-throwing-them-away dept.

takyon writes:

NASA could use an engine developed by Blue Origin instead of the four RL-10 engines currently used by the Space Launch System (SLS):

[One] problem with legacy hardware, built by traditional contractors such as Orbital ATK and Aerojet Rocketdyne, is that it's expensive. And while NASA has not released per-flight estimates of the expendable SLS rocket's cost, conservative estimates peg it at $1.5 to $2.5 billion per launch. The cost is so high that it effectively precludes more than one to two SLS launches per year.

[...] [The RL-10] engines, manufactured by Aerojet Rocketdyne, are also costly. (Ars understands that NASA paid an average of $17 million for each RL-10 engine for the maiden Exploration Upper Stage vehicle). So in October, to power the EUS, the space agency issued a request for information to the aerospace community for "a low cost drop-in replacement engine to minimize program cost." According to the document, the initial set of four engines would be needed in mid-2023 to prepare for the third flight of the SLS rocket, known as Exploration Mission-3.

Then, after an extension of the deadline for responses beyond mid-November, NASA revised the RFI on December 1. The revised document no longer seeks a "drop-in replacement" for the RL-10 engine, rather it asks for a "low-cost replacement engine." Although this seems like a subtle change, sources within the aerospace industry indicated to Ars that it is significant. According to NASA, it was done to increase the number of responses.

[...] That would probably include Blue Origin's BE-3U engine, which the company plans to use for its upper stage on the New Glenn heavy lift rocket. This is a modified version of the BE-3 engine that powers the New Shepard rocket, which has now flown successfully seven times. Blue Origin has previously marketed the BE-3U to Orbital ATK for its Next Generation Launch System, which is looking for an upper stage engine. A single BE-3U provides about 120,000 pounds of thrust, which exceeds the 100,000 pounds of thrust provided by four RL-10 engines.

Just cancel SLS and give that money to SpaceX, Blue Origin, or anybody willing to launch competitively.

Related: Maiden Flight of the Space Launch System Delayed to 2019
First SLS Mission Will be Unmanned
Commercial Space Companies Want More Money From NASA
Trump Space Adviser: Mars "Too Ambitious" and SLS is a Strategic National Asset
Boeing CEO Says His Company Will Carry Humans to Mars Before SpaceX
President Trump Signs Space Policy Directive 1

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Original Submission

• Re:target the solid rocket motors too Re:target the solid rocket motors too (Score: 3, Insightful) by takyon on Monday December 18 2017, @04:59PM (1 child)

  by takyon (881) <takyonNO@SPAMsoylentnews.org> on Monday December 18 2017, @04:59PM (#611461) Journal

  As an aside, if they're shopping around for a cheaper first stage rocket engine now, then they aren't going to launch in 2019. Expect further delays.

  Actually, it's pretty much guaranteed to slip to the middle of 2020. From a December 2019 launch date, so it was barely hanging in there. So we should begin thinking about how it could slip into 2021-2022 (and hopefully get cancelled entirely).

  SLS rocket advancing, but its launch date may slip to 2020 [arstechnica.com]

  SLS managers rally the troops to avoid EM-1 slip into 2020 [nasaspaceflight.com]

  Earlier this year it was known that the EM-1 launch date was going to be moved to a NET (No Earlier Than) target of December 2019. However, evaluations also took into account the potential of a future slip deep into 2020. This was known as the “risk-informed” date.

  NASA managers were tasked with a full review to provide a firm public – and political – target for the maiden launch, which was always likely to be the more palatable 2019 target. However, in making that date official to the public on Wednesday, managers were transparent by acknowledging the alternative date of June 2020.

  “While the review of the possible manufacturing and production schedule risks indicate a launch date of June 2020, the agency is managing to December 2019,” said acting NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot.

  “Since several of the key risks identified have not been actually realized, we are able to put in place mitigation strategies for those risks to protect the December 2019 date.”

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  [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]

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• Re:target the solid rocket motors too (Score: 2, Insightful) by khallow on Monday December 18 2017, @06:07PM

  by khallow (3766) on Monday December 18 2017, @06:07PM (#611505) Journal

  and hopefully get cancelled entirely

  Else we'll get very expensive projects which will "suck the oxygen out of the room". It's the Space Shuttle all over again.

  Parent