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posted by janrinok on Tuesday October 22 2019, @03:27AM   Printer-friendly
from the to-the-sea-and-beyond dept.

Guess what's on the receiving end of more NASA dollars for SLS?

Hint: It rhymes with 'throwing' as lawmakers baulk at lobbing an unknown amount of cash into the 2024 lunar bonfire[.]

NASA brought a smile to faces of Boeing shareholders this week with the announcement that it would be ordering 10 Space Launch System (SLS) core stages from the US aviation giant for Artemis rocket launches to the Moon. Although paying for the things could be tricky.

[...]It is expected that the next batch of rocket core stages will not suffer the same hideous cost overruns and horrendously drawn-out birthing process of the first build, which might finally fly in 2021 after years of delay.

While more ex-Shuttle RS-25 engines will be needed for dumping into the ocean after the non-reusable SLS is expended, NASA also wants Boeing to finally get on with building the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) to be used from Artemis IV. The EUS is essential to send heftier payloads of the order of 45 tons into lunar orbit.

The comparatively weedy Interim Cryogenic Propulsion stage will be used on the first three Artemis missions in NASA's headlong rush to get those boots on the surface to meet US President Donald Trump's 2024 deadline.

And that arbitrary 2024 date is causing some furrowed brows. At a hearing of the House Appropriations Committee's Commerce, Justice and Science subcommittee into NASA's proposal to bring the Moon landing forward from 2028, US lawmakers hauled the agency over the coals as the price tag for all the lunar japery remained unclear.

See also: A House budget committee has likely killed the 2024 Moon landing
NASA will award Boeing a cost-plus contract for up to 10 SLS rockets
Rocket Report: The Falcon 9 goes for four, Boeing's big cost-plus deal


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  • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Tuesday October 22 2019, @04:12AM (6 children)

    by fustakrakich (6150) on Tuesday October 22 2019, @04:12AM (#910160) Journal

    Yeah, we had to bail them out somehow and keep it out of the headlines, especially during campaign season. They might be able to drop the civilian market entirely, let Airbus deal with the lawsuits and other baggage that comes with the territory.

    --
    La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday October 22 2019, @05:07AM (4 children)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday October 22 2019, @05:07AM (#910182) Journal

    let Airbus deal with the lawsuits and other baggage that comes with the territory.

    The "territory" does not automatically imply lawsuits. Granted, it may imply the extra "baggage" related with engineering/quality assurance, but at least the risk of death for the passengers is reduced.

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Tuesday October 22 2019, @05:39AM (3 children)

      by fustakrakich (6150) on Tuesday October 22 2019, @05:39AM (#910187) Journal

      The "territory" does not automatically imply lawsuits.

      Yeah, it usually is figured into the "payables", and they play the odds. Boeing is an exact repeat of the Ford Pinto story, a simple risk/benefit analysis [wfu.edu]. This business very much implies lawsuits. Don't be surprised if the airlines' next step will be to jack up the prices unless you waive your right to sue.

      --
      La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
      • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday October 22 2019, @05:45AM (2 children)

        by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday October 22 2019, @05:45AM (#910191) Journal

        Don't be surprised if the airlines' next step will be to jack up the prices unless you waive your right to sue.

        You mean the scrapping the bottom of the barrel (aka: advanced stages of the law of diminishing returns) is the end-game stage for capitalism, eh? (grin)

        --
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
        • (Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Tuesday October 22 2019, @05:57AM (1 child)

          by fustakrakich (6150) on Tuesday October 22 2019, @05:57AM (#910193) Journal

          the end-game stage for capitalism, eh?

          It's been the end-game stage for over 50 years... When does the Mad Max stage start?

          --
          La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
          • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday October 22 2019, @06:20AM

            by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday October 22 2019, @06:20AM (#910198) Journal

            When does the Mad Max stage start?

            I'll ask Mel Gibson when he drops by, maybe he remembers.

            --
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by driverless on Tuesday October 22 2019, @10:29AM

    by driverless (4770) on Tuesday October 22 2019, @10:29AM (#910228)

    Will the US now impose tariffs on Boeing products the same way they did on Airbus products because of the subsidies?