NASA’s new Space launch system (SLS) The previous original cost estimates in Megrocket and related ground infrastructure have risen to a degree that the agency needs to notify Congress about the ballooning budget.
Kathy Luders, the recently appointed leader of NASA’s human spaceflight efforts, announced the new cost estimates in a blog post. Published Aug 27
“The new development base cost for SLS is 9.1 billion, and a commitment to support early ground-systems capability. [rocket’s first] “The mission is now worth 4 2.4 billion,” Luders wrote, without elaborating on what the previous baseline costs were. Congress had earlier approved billions of dollars Commitment to the development of SLS as per 2019 financial numbers.
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The first launch of the SLS is to be Artemis 1, which has a test flight Send a crownless spacecraft around the moon in November 2021 In preparation for the 2024 lunar landing. Although the Artemis 1 mission is still on track, the agency is cautious about the potential impact, Luders wrote. Nationwide epidemic of corona virus Which has led to physical distance and in some cases a shortage of parts in the space industry.
“Successful green run hot-fire testing will enable us to better predict the target launch date for the mission.” He also noted that future rocket development should proceed more smoothly, and that Orion spacecraft Taking astronauts on a test mission to lunar orbit in November 2023 is on the way.
“We are well into the builds for future missions and we are seeing significant improvements in build rates, high-quality work and efficiency across the board,” he wrote. “Going forward, our goal is to continue to reduce production costs for the world’s most efficient launch system, as we take on new challenges to our lunar research program.”
Back in April, According to Space NewsU.S. evaluating NASA’s core programs The Government Accountability Office Fees (GAO) report puts the estimated development cost of SLS at SL.S75 billion dollars and ground infrastructure, called Exploration Ground Systems (EGS), at 3. $ 33 billion. (Both figures are estimates from January, which were only released in April.) The new figures show a slight increase from the GAO estimates.
But NASA is probably comparing the new numbers with its 2014 baseline estimates for SLS and EKG programs. According to Space News, SLS was expected to post પછી 7.02 billion and EGS $ 1.84 billion; The new estimates represent a 30% increase over the 2014 number.
Inside Report published in March, NASA’s Inspector General of Police warned that the SLS program may. The 30% budget has exceeded the overage rate threshold that notifies Congress. The report added that NASA had not rescheduled its baseline cost estimate behind the removal of about 1 1 billion in costs related to SLS’s solid rocket booster and RS-25 engines.
According to Space News, Congress is not likely to make major changes to SLS or EGS programs due to the notification. While the position is yet to be taken up by the Senate House Distribution Bill S.L.S. And EGS. Working with, Chairman of the Senate Applications Committee, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), Has advocated for SLS in the past. In addition, the House allocated 3 3 million and એસ 75 million more for SLS and EGS, respectively, than the administration asked.
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