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NASA SLS megarocket shortage causes tug-of-war between moon missions, Europa exploration:
NASA is choosing between human missions to the moon and a robotic mission to Jupiter's icy moon Europa as the agency manages its limited supply of megarockets in the coming years.
The agency began developing its Space Launch System (SLS) in 2010, intending for the rocket to be the agency's primary vehicle for crewed and deep-space missions. But work has been slow, and NASA and Boeing, which builds the vehicles' two main stages, are only now testing the core stage of the first SLS. It won't fly until late next year, when it makes the first flight of NASA's Artemis lunar-exploration program — an uncrewed trip around the moon known as Artemis 1. The schedule will therefore be tight for the third Artemis launch, which aims to land two astronauts near the moon's south pole in 2024.
Meanwhile, engineers are building the Europa Clipper spacecraft, designed to learn enough about the moon's ice shell, subsurface ocean and geology to help scientists determine whether the hidden ocean may suit the needs of life as we know it. And Congress has mandated the agency also use an SLS rocket to launch Europa Clipper — without consideration for whether one may be available.
[...] In terms of rocket science, right now, Europa Clipper can launch on a commercial vehicle, like SpaceX's Falcon Heavy or United Launch Alliance's Delta-IV Heavy rocket, although the mission would then need a longer cruise time to reach its destination.
But in terms of the law, NASA's hands are tied.
"Because of that, we're planning to build the Europa Clipper and then put it into storage, because we're not going to have an SLS rocket available until 2025," Bridenstine said. "That's the current plan. I don't think that's the right plan, but we're going to follow the law."
(Score: 5, Informative) by khallow on Tuesday October 27 2020, @03:16AM (5 children)
Basic common sense stuff can't be done because the rocket doesn't have the economics to allow it to happen. And in a US with growing fiscal weakness, the "just launch twice" solution is likely to never happen.
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday October 27 2020, @03:42AM (4 children)
The basic common sense of the last two decades says if you want something cheap, go make it in China. Might work for SLS too (large grin)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 27 2020, @03:56AM (2 children)
> if you want something cheap,...
if you want something cheap, and you don't mind giving away your IP,...
ftfy
That's the most common reason I hear from small companies that tried to have fairly complex things made in China. After they got samples back (which often looked pretty good), a clone, but unbranded product was on the world market, undercutting the price of the original. Often within weeks--there's no shame (and apparently no penalty either) in stealing IP in China.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 27 2020, @04:13AM
That whoosh... was it deafening?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 27 2020, @05:19AM
Good for them, they learn fast. Can't say the same about you.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday October 27 2020, @02:40PM
No worries,
I'm sure they already have the plans. But is kind of like school textbooks. It was so screwed up to begin with, that nobody in their right minds would actually copy it.