NASA starts manufacturing rocket to Mars Wednesday, 06 January 2016

NASA engineers have completed the critical design review for its Space Launch System (SLS), the most powerful rocket in the world, capable of propelling humans to Mars.

This is the first time in almost 40 years that a NASA rocket suited for the transportation of humans has completed all the steps needed to clear a critical design review (CDR). The CDR provides a final examination into the design and development of the integrated launch vehicle, and is the stage before full-scale fabrication can commence.

The Space Launch System is the first exploration class rocket since the Saturn V, and is also the first vehicle designed to meet the challenges of a journey to Mars. The SLS will be paired with NASA's Orion spacecraft to allow exploration of destinations beyond Earth's orbit.

"We’ve nailed down the design of SLS, we’ve successfully completed the first round of testing of the rocket’s engines and boosters, and all the major components for the first flight are now in production," said Bill Hill, deputy associate administrator of NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Division.

"There have been challenges, and there will be more ahead, but this review gives us confidence that we are on the right track for the first flight of SLS and using it to extend permanent human presence into deep space."

The rocket will have three configurations. The CDR examined the first of these configurations, called SLS Block 1.

This configuration will be capable of lifting a minimum of 70 tonnes, and be powered by twin boosters and four RS-25 engines. The core stage, towering more than 61m tall and with a diameter of nearly 8.5 m, will carry cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen fuel for the four engines.

The next planned upgrade of SLS, Block 1B, would use a more powerful exploration upper stage for more ambitious missions with a 105 tonne lift capacity.

The third configuration, called Block 2, will add a pair of advanced solid or liquid propellant boosters to provide a 130 tonne lift capacity. All configurations will utilise the same core stage and four RS-25 engines.

The CDR was completed in parallel with a separate review by the Standing Review Board, which is composed of seasoned independent experts from NASA and industry.

Thirteen teams of senior engineers and aerospace experts took 11 weeks to review more than 1000 SLS documents and more than 150 GB of data as part of the comprehensive assessment process at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Centre.

This review is the last of four reviews that examine concepts and designs. It opens the way for manufacturing, integration and testing. Design certification will take place after that, in 2017, comparing the actual final product to the rocket’s design. The final review, the flight readiness review, will take place just prior to the 2018 flight readiness date

The Space Launch System is just one piece of the puzzle that will need to be solved to get to Mars, involving NASA and its partners from the International Space Station.

Prior to any journey to Mars, it is anticipated that the international community of space exploring organisations will have to develop transportation and staging capacity in the cislunar space, which is the space between the moon and the earth.

Teams at the Marshall Space Flight Centre are also developing a Mars lander that will deliver humans to Mars, and support life in that hostile environment.