[New] Space Launch System / Orion Discussion Thread

[magnemoe]

On 9/12/2023 at 3:46 PM, kerbiloid said:

The truth about SLS origins is revealed.

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I thought it was the Apollo launch escape system test first. Did they use the same method here? As in using an bundle of solid rocket inside the first stage?
Now the Apollo launch escape test was hilarious in that the makeshift rocket broke up in flight so it was an real launch abort who was even better  

[kerbiloid]

3 minutes ago, magnemoe said:

I thought it was the Apollo launch escape system test first.

Apollo shroud is cone, and this is recognizably ogive.

[tater]

This is without Orion (~$1.2B per?).

This is also "deliverables" and doesn't include ground systems costs, nor any amortization of R&D (which commercial contracts have to include, or eat, but taxpayers are on the hook for for SLS).

[tater]

https://oig.nasa.gov/office-of-inspector-general-oig/audit-reports/nasas-readiness-for-the-artemis-ii-crewed-mission-to-lunar-orbit/

Quote

To this end, the Artemis I test flight revealed critical
issues that need to be addressed before placing crew on the Artemis II mission. In particular, the test flight revealed
anomalies with the Orion heat shield, separation bolts, and power distribution that pose significant risks to the safety of
the crew. Resolution of these anomalies is among the most significant factors impacting NASA’s readiness for Artemis II.
To its credit, the Agency is taking action to address these issues.

 

 

[OrdinaryKerman]

On 9/14/2023 at 4:06 PM, magnemoe said:

Did they use the same method here? As in using an bundle of solid rocket inside the first stage?

quick Wiki read says the booster used was a Peacekeeper ICBM first stage, looks like it has a shell around it to be the same diameter as the ESM fairings

Edited May 2 by OrdinaryKerman

[magnemoe]

1 hour ago, OrdinaryKerman said:

quick Wiki read says the booster used was a Peacekeeper ICBM first stage, looks like it has a shell around it to be the same diameter as the ESM fairings

Makes sense, its not that they launch many Peacekeeper ICBM anyway and they have an expire date. 

[Flavio hc16]

OOooffff size: big.

 

 The last Part of the article, where Erik Berger puts his thoughts, are quite damning.

"Koerner's remark about redundancy almost certainly reflects the space agency's peevishness with the continual oversight of these bodies. In effect, she is saying, we are already aware of all these issues raised by the inspector general's report. Let us go and work on them.

However, the reality is that for those of us outside of the government, the inspector general provides valuable insight into supposedly public programs that are nonetheless largely shrouded from view. For example, it is only thanks to the inspector general's office that the public finally got a full accounting for the cost of a single Space Launch System and Orion launch—$4.2 billion. NASA, for years, obscured this cost because it is embarrassingly high in an age of increasingly reusable spaceflight.

It is somewhat chilling to see government officials openly attack their independent investigators. These officials are appointed by the president and confirmed by the US Senate. When President Trump did not like the findings of some of these officials in 2020, he purged five inspectors general from the Department of Health and Human Services and other agencies in six weeks. The Economist characterized this as a "war" on watchdogs.

It may be frustrating for NASA officials to have to repeatedly tell the public how it is spending the public's money. But we have a right to know, and these kinds of reports are essential to that process. My space reporter colleagues and I often have the same questions and want these kinds of details. But NASA can tell us to pound sand, such as the agency did with coverage of the Artemis I countdown rehearsal in 2022."

[StrandedonEarth]

7 hours ago, Flavio hc16 said:

For example, it is only thanks to the inspector general's office that the public finally got a full accounting for the cost of a single Space Launch System and Orion launch—$4.2 billion. NASA, for years, obscured this cost because it is embarrassingly high in an age of increasingly reusable spaceflight.

Ouch!

[kerbiloid]

What could they turn KSP into for that money...

[tater]

 

This should have been done ages ago.

[darthgently]

On 9/14/2023 at 4:10 AM, kerbiloid said:

Apollo shroud is cone, and this is recognizably ogive.

The Eastern Orthodox Church would approve

[Flavio hc16]

2 hours ago, tater said:

This should have been done ages ago.

We should have always had the EUS and the block 1B

[tater]

7 minutes ago, Flavio hc16 said:

We should have always had the EUS and the block 1B

Yes and no. Yes, in that ICPS was always stupid and wasteful—in the name of "saving money" for the first uncrewed test flight, use an existing stage that required building a one-off piece of expensive GSE. No in that the math from Constellation was clear—any useful vehicle needed to be able to send 71t to TLI. Minus that, this vehicle was always stupid.