[meteorite-list] NASA's Space Launch System Completes Preliminary Design Review

[Ron Baalke]

August 1, 2013

Rachel Kraft
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
rachel.h.kraft at nasa.gov 

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

RELEASE 13-243
     
NASA's Space Launch System Completes Preliminary Design Review

NASA has achieved a major milestone in its effort to build the nation's next  
heavy-lift launch vehicle by successfully completing the Space Launch System  
(SLS) preliminary design review.

Senior experts and engineers from across the agency concluded Wednesday the  
design, associated production and ground support plans for the SLS heavy-lift  
rocket are technically and programmatically capable of fulfilling the launch  
vehicle's mission objectives. NASA is developing the SLS and Orion spacecraft  
to provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low-Earth  
orbit, with the flexibility to launch spacecraft for crew and cargo missions,  
including to an asteroid and Mars.

"The review had to be incredibly detailed, so our plans for vehicle  
integration, flight software, test, verification and operations will result  
in a safe, affordable and sustainable vehicle design," said Todd May, manager  
of the SLS Program at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

This review concludes the initial design and technology development phase.  
The next milestone in the continuing verification process is Key Decision  
Point-C, in which NASA will grant the program authority to move from  
formulation to implementation.

"The agency not only reviews the program internally, but also seeks help from  
many external sources," said LeRoy Cain, head of the independent standing  
review board for SLS. "There are several external NASA stakeholders and  
organizations -- including Congress, the Office of Management and Budget, and  
the public -- who require a thorough, truly independent look at these  
programs as they transition through their lifecycle."

People from across the country, including experts on 11 different review  
teams, participated in the design review process, which included analysis of  
approximately 200 documents and 15 terabytes of data. NASA's industry  
partners -- The Boeing Company of Chicago, ATK of Brigham City, Utah, and  
Aerojet Rocketdyne of Sacramento, Calif. -- also contributed to this  
successful checkpoint, and will continue to work to meet all program  
milestones.

In July 2012, the SLS Program completed a combined system requirements review  
and system definition review, which set requirements of the overall launch  
vehicle system. That successful completion confirmed the SLS was ready to  
move from concept to design. All element-level preliminary design reviews for  
the SLS core stage, boosters, engines and spacecraft and payload integration  
have been completed successfully.

"In two short years from the first announcement of the Space Launch System,  
we are at a milestone that validates the detailed design and integration of  
the system," said Dan Dumbacher, deputy associate administrator for the Human  
Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. "You can feel the momentum of  
the workforce as we produce test hardware today. We are creating a national  
capability, and we will get this country, and the world, exploring deep  
space."

The initial 70-metric-ton version of SLS will stand 321 feet tall, provide  
8.4 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, and carry 154,000 pounds of payload.  
The rocket is scheduled for its first mission, Exploration Mission 1, in 2017  
at which time it will launch an uncrewed Orion spacecraft. The mission's goal  
is to demonstrate the integrated system performance of the SLS rocket and  
spacecraft before a crewed flight in 2021.

The SLS will be modified from the 70-metric-ton version  into the most  
powerful rocket ever built, a 130-metric-ton version, which will be capable  
of lifting 286,000 pounds. NASA plans to engage industry peers to further  
refine the 130-metric-ton design to support any destination, any payload and  
any mission to deep space.

For more information on the SLS preliminary design review, visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/17m4zFe 

For more information on SLS, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/sls 

-end-