NASA is the most powerful rocket in the world.
14 September 2011, NASA officially presented the design of the new super-heavy rocket Space Launch System (SLS).
American engineers have designed a new carrier, which can earn the glory of the most powerful in the world. This carrier will serve for the ascent into space not only of the Orion spacecraft, but also of much more weighty aircraft, which are intended for carrying out near-earth missions and flights to planets and asteroids.
For the rapid improvement of the SLS, many technical elements will be used, remaining from the shuttle program and the already forgotten “Constellation” program, which was the project of the second landing of a man on the Moon.
In the original performance, which was presented as an illustration, the height of the SLS should be about 98 meters, and in a more enhanced version - almost 122 meters. The weight of these missiles, respectively, should be 2495 and 2948 tons. The force at the start should be equal to 3810 in the original and 4173 in the enhanced version.
The first step of the SLS will be a converted external shuttle tank, which will be equipped with upgraded engines and solid fuel boosters also from the shuttles (RS-25D / E).
In the second stage, variations are possible depending on the design. But even in this case, direct inheritance will be overlooked. SLS will use J-2X engines that were created at the time of working on the Constellation program. These engines were also borrowed in turn from the second and third stages of the well-known lunar rocket Saturn V, but during the program "Constellation" were modernized and improved.
Each of the SLS stages will operate on liquid oxygen and hydrogen. In its initial variation, SLS will be able to put about 70 tons into low Earth orbit.
The subsequent enhanced modification will be much larger and heavier. In this embodiment, the first stage will have five shuttle engines (in the original version of the 3 engine), and it will have increased accelerators, which may well be replaced with liquid ones. The second stage of the enhanced version of the SLS will also differ to a large extent from the second stage of the initial modification, since this “advanced” SLS will have to be put into space orbits up to 130 tons.
At the official presentation of this super-heavy rocket, NASA highlighted the modularity and flexibility of this development, as this makes it possible to optimally adjust each SLS to its upcoming load.
The first flight of this new rocket is to take place at the end of 2017 of the year. The implication is that this will be the unmanned flight of the MPCV or its “progenitor” - the Orion.
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