SLS dress rehearsal countdown set for June 20th with launch delayed again
According to NASA officials, the next attempt to complete a dress rehearsal countdown for its SLS rocket will take place on June 20, 2022, with the earliest date an actual launch can occur delayed again, and now set at best for an August 23 to September 6 window.
The article also notes that during a different press conference, NASA administrator Bill Nelson hinted that “there could be slips” in the present target date of ‘2025 for landing humans on the Moon.
Ya think? I guarantee that NASA will not land humans on the Moon in ’25, at least not using SLS. Based on all the issues confronting SLS, as well as NASA’s normal way of doing things, this mission will certainly slip at least one to two more years. And I am being very very very very optimistic.
We must also note that when first proposed by Bush Jr. in 2004, he predicted a NASA manned lunar landing by 2015, which means this launch will be at least one decade behind schedule, with it more likely being later than that.
But then, I can hear our glorious president yelling at me for complaining. “C’mon man! What’s a decade or two when you’re scheduling something important?”
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
According to NASA officials, the next attempt to complete a dress rehearsal countdown for its SLS rocket will take place on June 20, 2022, with the earliest date an actual launch can occur delayed again, and now set at best for an August 23 to September 6 window.
The article also notes that during a different press conference, NASA administrator Bill Nelson hinted that “there could be slips” in the present target date of ‘2025 for landing humans on the Moon.
Ya think? I guarantee that NASA will not land humans on the Moon in ’25, at least not using SLS. Based on all the issues confronting SLS, as well as NASA’s normal way of doing things, this mission will certainly slip at least one to two more years. And I am being very very very very optimistic.
We must also note that when first proposed by Bush Jr. in 2004, he predicted a NASA manned lunar landing by 2015, which means this launch will be at least one decade behind schedule, with it more likely being later than that.
But then, I can hear our glorious president yelling at me for complaining. “C’mon man! What’s a decade or two when you’re scheduling something important?”
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Ironically, Trump set the 2024 date so a landing could happen before the end of his second term – he may still get that wish.
Haven’t heard anything about the likelihood of an extended waiver on the SLS solid rocket boosters. And by an extended waiver, I mean that (if I recall correctly) we are already in a waiver on the need to re-stack them. This doesn’t feel good.
Minor edit in last sentence: “when you’re scheduling something important”. Although if Brandon had written it down he may have just used “your”.
Aren’t those boosters six months past their use-by date?
Andi: Fixed, though I agree Biden might have made the error and not realize it was an error.
And yes, the solid rocket boosters will have been stacked almost two years in September, about 10 months past their use-by date.
“And yes, the solid rocket boosters will have been stacked almost two years in September, about 10 months past their use-by date.”
I hope I am wrong, but I am getting a “Chellenger” type feeling about this, ignoring prudence and NASA’s own rules to try to launch.
How can NASA ignore something as historically sensitive as the SRB use-by-date? With Spaceship getting down to only a matter of weeks until flight, it is inevitable that such behavior would be seen as negligently ignoring safety for competitive reasons! Which of course is exactly what it would be.
Ray Van Dune asked: “How can NASA ignore something as historically sensitive as the SRB use-by-date? With [Starship] getting down to only a matter of weeks until flight, it is inevitable that such behavior would be seen as negligently ignoring safety for competitive reasons! Which of course is exactly what it would be.”
Without humans on board, it is not necessarily a human safety issue, only a mission safety issue. Do I recall correctly that they performed an inspection of the Solid Rocket Boosters?
During the Space Shuttle era, there were a couple of times when NASA had booster segments stored for long periods of time, yet they still stacked and operated properly. NASA’s “use-by” date has more to do with “derating” items so that they are not pushed to their limits (running the SSMEs at 105% of rated performance was poor form but still within the tested performance).
Other solid rocket motors have been stored for many years before use. The Minuteman rocket is an example, where several have been used for commercial launches after many years of storage. The problem NASA has is that the SRBs are somewhat larger than many other solid rockets, and the SRB characteristics and performance after long-term stacking is not well understood. These particular issues will undoubtedly be better understood after this launch. However, for a variety of reasons, I doubt that this issue will come up again any time soon.
I know it doesn’t matter in today’s lawless USA, but if a program goes over 30% budget it’s supposed to require a reauthorization by Congress. An IG or OMB report already found 2 years ago that NASA used funny numbers to keep the SLS project just under the 30% threshold which certainly the 2 years since has pushed it over the line no matter what accounting gimmicks are employed.
At least legally the NASA administrator is required to notify Congress and all work on the project is supposed to stop.
all work on the project is supposed to stop.
That’s certainly not going to help the schedule.
I’m not sure the public understands that the Sunk Cost Fallacy is a fallacy. “We spent $25 billion on it, and we’re cancelling the project without anything to show for it,” doesn’t seem as if it would go down well.
“We spent $25 billion on it, and we’re cancelling the project without anything to show for it,” doesn’t seem as if it would go down well.
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Will it “go down well” when we’ve spent $50 billion with nothing to show for it?
Meade Lux Lewis wrote: “Will it ‘go down well’ when we’ve spent $50 billion with nothing to show for it?”
That kicks the can down the road, when someone else might take the heat, and those people won’t take much more heat than cancelling it today. In addition, those future people can always blame someone else, like NASA, for failure. If they cancel it today, then today’s Congress takes all the heat.
Welcome to politics, which does not do the intelligent thing.
For comparison…..the Feds spend $5 billion a month on SNAP ->food stamps.