[meteorite-list] NASA'S Space Launch System Passes Major Agency Review, Moves to Preliminary Design

[Ron Baalke]

July 25, 2012

Trent J. Perrotto 
Headquarters, Washington 
202-358-0321 
trent.j.perrotto at nasa.gov 

Kimberly Henry 
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. 
256-544-0034 
kimberly.m.henry at nasa.gov 

RELEASE: 12-256

NASA'S SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM PASSES MAJOR AGENCY REVIEW, MOVES TO PRELIMINARY DESIGN

WASHINGTON -- The rocket that will launch humans farther into space 
than ever before passed a major NASA review Wednesday. The Space 
Launch System (SLS) Program completed a combined System Requirements 
Review and System Definition Review, which set requirements of the 
overall launch vehicle system. SLS now moves ahead to its preliminary 
design phase. 

The SLS will launch NASA's Orion spacecraft and other payloads, and 
provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low 
Earth orbit. 

These NASA reviews set technical, performance, cost and schedule 
requirements to provide on-time development of the heavy-lift rocket. 
As part of the process, an independent review board comprised of 
technical experts from across NASA evaluated SLS Program documents 
describing vehicle specifications, budget and schedule. The board 
confirmed SLS is ready to move from concept development to 
preliminary design. 

"This new heavy-lift launch vehicle will make it possible for 
explorers to reach beyond our current limits, to nearby asteroids, 
Mars and its moons, and to destinations even farther across our solar 
system," said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for the 
Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA 
Headquarters in Washington. "The in-depth assessment confirmed the 
basic vehicle concepts of the SLS, allowing the team to move forward 
and start more detailed engineering design." 

The reviews also confirmed the SLS system architecture and integration 
with the Orion spacecraft, managed by NASA's Johnson Space Center in 
Houston, and the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program, 
which manage the operations and launch facilities at NASA's Kennedy 
Space Center in Florida. 

"This is a pivotal moment for this program and for NASA," said SLS 
Program Manager Todd May. "This has been a whirlwind experience from 
a design standpoint. Reaching this key development point in such a 
short period of time, while following the strict protocol and design 
standards set by NASA for human spaceflight is a testament to the 
team's commitment to delivering the nation's next heavy-lift launch 
vehicle." 

SLS reached this major milestone less than 10 months after the 
program's inception. The combination of the two assessments 
represents a fundamentally different way of conducting NASA program 
reviews. The SLS team is streamlining processes to provide the nation 
with a safe, affordable and sustainable heavy-lift launch vehicle 
capability. The next major program milestone is the preliminary 
design review, targeted for late next year. 

The first test flight of NASA's Space Launch System, which will 
feature a configuration for a 70-metric-ton (77-ton) lift capacity, 
is scheduled for 2017. As SLS evolves, a three-stage launch vehicle 
configuration will provide a lift capability of 130 metric tons (143 
tons) to enable missions beyond low Earth orbit and support deep 
space exploration. 

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the 
SLS program. Across the country NASA and its industry partners 
continue to make progress on SLS hardware that will be integrated 
into the final design. The RS-25 core stage and J-2X upper-stage 
rocket engine in development by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga 
Park, Calif., for the future two-stage SLS, will be tested at NASA's 
Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The prime contractor for the 
five-segment solid rocket boosters, ATK of Brigham City, Utah, has 
begun processing its first SLS boosters in preparation for an initial 
qualification test next year, ahead of their use for the first two 
exploration missions. The Boeing Co. in Huntsville is designing the 
SLS core stage, to be built at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in 
New Orleans and tested at Stennis before being shipped to Kennedy. 

For more information about the Space Launch System, including the 
newest proposed rocket configurations, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov/sls 
	
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