Washington, 14 sep (EFE).-La NASA today introduced the new system of space launch that wants to put at the head of the exploration of space and achieve new goals such as the first manned trip to an asteroid and the cherished trip to Mars.
These new destinations mean leave low Earth orbit and venture into more deep space something that NASA intends to do for the first time with ships manned.
The date is not so distant, as according to the plan presented by President Barack Obama last year is expected to reach an asteroid by 2025 and send the first mission to the red planet in 2030.
With the new system of release, the strongest so far since the Saturn V that reached the moon mission crew Apollo more than 40 years ago, is one step closer, said the director of the NASA, Charles Bolden.
“We are investing in technologies to live and work in space, and setting the stage for visit asteroids and Mars,” asserted.
After months of studying various plans and designs, Bolden presented along with several members of Congress the Administration Obama plan for designing rocket system launch space (SLS, for its acronym in English).
“This new launch system will create good jobs in United States and will ensure US space leadership,” said Bolden.
The President Obama “has challenged us to be daring to dream big, and that is exactly what we are doing at NASA,” said Bolden.
This project, he said, would begin a new era in space exploration “will inspire millions of people around the world”.
With this decision culminate months of debate to tell NASA with a launch system not only powerful, but versatile, allowing to adapt new technologies to the needs that arise.
The rocket is designed to move to the astronauts in a capsule Orion installed on the top, as well as large quantities of cargo, equipment and experiments to Earth orbit and other more distant destinations, and will serve as support for the transport ships trading to be carried out flights of cargo and replacement of astronauts to the international space station (ISS).
Will have an initial capacity of 70 tons, capable of elevating the capsule with six crew members, and expand to the 130. Later is expected to be reached between 140 and 165 tons.
Used liquid hydrogen and oxygen as fuel, also will be powered by engines RS-25D/E and the upper stages engines J2X. NASA plans to start tests of launch in 2017.
After the cancellation of the constellation program and the withdrawal of the space shuttle in July, NASA ran out own launch vehicle, but this new heavy-lift rocket will be the “key” for the implementation of the plan drawn up by the Obama President and the Congress under the NASA Authorization Act of last year, said Bolden.
“Once resolved the architecture of the heavy-lift launch system, NASA can now go ahead with the construction of the rocket, and a new generation of vehicles and technologies necessary for an ambitious programme of manned deep space missions”, said in a statement, John Holdren, Assistant to the White House for science and technology.
The project has an estimated value of about $ 18 billion in its first stage, about 3 billion dollars a year until 2017, said at press conference Bill Gerstenmaier, responsible for the newly created directory operations and human exploration from NASA (HEO, for its acronym in English).
Gerstenmaier acknowledged that it will be difficult to build, but it will give to NASA “the capacity to go beyond low Earth orbit and that no other country has succeeded”. He said that the plan has been calculated with sufficient flexibility so that when the Government reduced the budget of NASA, the Agency can continue working on this project.
The Senator Kay Bailey of Texas, whose state is home to one of the main centers of NASA in Houston, said: “this is what you were expecting to see long time”.
Computer-generated artist’s impression provided by NASA showing the space launch (SLS) system. EFE/NASA
