NASA’s new Space launch system (SLS) Megacate and its associated ground infrastructure have raised past spending estimates to a degree that requires the agency to inform Congress about the Gubernatorial budget.
Kathy Lloyders, NASA’s recently appointed leader in human space efforts, has announced new cost estimates in a blog post. Published August 27.
“The new development for SLS is a baseline cost of 9. 1.91 billion, and a commitment to the capacity of early ground systems. [rocket’s first] The mission now stands at 2. 2.4 billion, “Lloyds wrote, without elaborating on what the previous baseline cost was. Congress had earlier approved 7 billion Commitment to the development of SLS, according to the 2019 financial figures.
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The first launch of the SLS is scheduled to be Artemis 1, which is a test flight Send an unblemished spacecraft around the moon in November 2021 In preparation for a 2024 lunar landing. “Artemis 1 is on the mission track so far, although the agency is cautious about the potential effects,” Lloyds wrote. Coronavirus ubiquitous epidemic Which has forced physical distances and, in some cases, created a shortage of parts in the space industry.
“A successful green run will enable better prediction of the target start date for hot-fire test missions,” he wrote. He also noted that future rocket development should proceed more smoothly, and that Orion spacecraft A test mission to orbit the moon in November 2023 to carry astronauts.
“We are in good construction for future missions, and we are seeing significant improvements in build rates, high performance 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 face new challenges to our lunar research program.”
Back in April, According to Space NewsThe US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report evaluates NASA’s key programs and estimates the estimated development cost of SLS at $ 75 billion and the ground infrastructure, called Exploration Ground Systems (EGS). 33 33.33 billion. (Both figures are estimates from January, published only in April.) The new figures show a slight increase over GAO estimates.
But NASA is likely comparing new numbers with its Baseline 2014 estimates for SLS and EKG programs. According to Space News, SLS was expected to cost ਸਮੇਂ 7.02 billion and EGS $ 1.84 billion at the time; The new estimates show an increase of about 30% compared to the 2014 number.
In one Report published in March, The Inspector General of the NASA office warned that the SLS program may have exceeded the budget over rate threshold that informs Congress. The report states that NASA did not return its baseline cost estimates, then removed about 1 1 billion in costs associated with SLS’s solid rocket boosters and RS25 engines.
According to Space News, major changes to SLS or EGS programs are unlikely due to the congressional notification. The Senate has yet to hold the post Housing Allocation Bill To deal with SLS and EGS, the Chair of the Senate Applications Committee, Sen. Richard Shelby (R.A.), has advocated for SLS in the past. In addition, the House allocated an additional 3 343 million and 75 75 million for SLS and EGS, respectively.
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