Comments on: SpaceX completes preliminary design review of launch abort system

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:59:00 +0000

Bilbo,
where are you getting your numbers? The Falcon 9 Heavy will lift 52
metric tons into LEO (Low Earth Orbit) for a fixed price of $125 million
with $0 development cost to the tax payer. (Source:SpaceX’s web site)
There are 2 versions of the SLS the first one that is being developed is
a 70 M tons version that will cost tax payers about $17 Billion to
develop and test first test flight around 2018. When was the last time
any NASA project came in on budget? Then there is another SLS version
that is going to lift 140 M tons with unspecified hardware in the early
2020′s. So basically for the same $17 billion NASA could purchase 136 Falcon Heavy flights and put 2,700
M tons into LEO or close to about 6 million lbs into LEO and employee a
bunch of Americans in the process, except the congress people from the
old shuttle/space states think their American’s are more special then
SpaceX’s Americans and these congress people also don’t understand what value for the dollar is when they spend tax payer money.

By: Mr. Underhill

Mr. Underhill — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 02:11:00 +0000

SLS, if our idiotic political process will permit it to be finished, won’t compete with Atlas, Delta or Falcon. It will be in an entirely different class and will do an entirely different job. The Falcon 9 Heavy configuration will lift ten and a half tonnes to low Earth orbit. The SLS will lift 129 metric tonnes to low Earth orbit, about twelve times the Falcon 9 Heavy’s payload.

By: DocM

DocM — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 22:02:00 +0000

It’ll be great to see the DragonRider system tested, especially its propulsive landing mode. What will also be interesting is to see if the systems Super Draco thrusters will use the current toxic hypergolic fuels (same other current spacecraft) or move to something non-toxic like Firedtar’s NOFBX.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 17:37:00 +0000

The Space Shuttle had ZERO fallback for rocket failure during most of it’s launch… The solid rocket SRB’s couldn’t be shut down, and there was no recourse after orbiter engine or external tank failure….
NASA established manned launch vehicle rules, then waived it’s own rules when it’s (later canceled) Constellation rocket couldn’t meet them… Now, NASA plans to spend $50+ billion taxpayer funds to again try to create it’s own new Govt rocket (SLS) to compete with/substitute for existing/proven Commercial launch vehicles like Atlas, Delta, Falcon….Since no one now working at NASA has ever designed a successful launch vehicle or manned spacecraft, perhaps NASA shouldn’t be setting the rules for it’s competitors.