Crew Access Arm for Orion. Soon to be attached to the ML for SLS
More pics of crew access arm awaiting installationQuoteCrew Access Arm for Orion. Soon to be attached to the ML for SLShttps://twitter.com/NASA_Nerd/status/925345303183659008
Quote from: FutureSpaceTourist on 10/31/2017 12:04 pmMore pics of crew access arm awaiting installationQuoteCrew Access Arm for Orion. Soon to be attached to the ML for SLShttps://twitter.com/NASA_Nerd/status/925345303183659008Since the ML isn't going to be used to fly crew until after the 3-year modification, why add the Crew access arm. Just going to take back off without use.
Chris, I think it may be time for an update to this article or new article considering current ML-1 status.
Late last year NASA managers spoke of their desire to have two MLs, avoiding a multi-year delay between EM-1 and EM-2 due to the vast amount of modifications required to redesign the ML to cater for the larger SLS Block 1B, along with the potential to continue to fly Block 1 SLS missions off the current ML.
Clarification from the article re: further SLS use of this ML. It doesn't HAVE to be a one-off:QuoteLate last year NASA managers spoke of their desire to have two MLs, avoiding a multi-year delay between EM-1 and EM-2 due to the vast amount of modifications required to redesign the ML to cater for the larger SLS Block 1B, along with the potential to continue to fly Block 1 SLS missions off the current ML.
Dug a bit deeper into the numbers underlying the mobile launcher tower. Brutal. Story coming soon.
Another relevant data point. NASA (at the insistence of Congress) spends nearly $500 million annually on ground system development at Kennedy. That is the entirety of what SpaceX spent to develop and fly the Falcon Heavy rocket.
NASA spends $1 billion for a launch tower that leans, may only be used once
Instead of costing just $54 million, the US Government Accountability Office found that NASA spent $281.8 million revamping the mobile launcher from fiscal years 2012 to 2015, but still the work was not done. The recently released White House budget for fiscal year 2019 reveals that NASA anticipates spending an additional $396.2 million on the mobile launcher from 2015 through the maiden launch of the SLS, probably in 2020.Therefore, from the tower's inception in 2009, NASA will have spent $912 million on the mobile launcher it may use for just a single launch of the SLS rocket. Moreover, the agency will have required eight years to modify a launch tower it built in two years.
And the article:QuoteNASA spends $1 billion for a launch tower that leans, may only be used onceQuoteInstead of costing just $54 million, the US Government Accountability Office found that NASA spent $281.8 million revamping the mobile launcher from fiscal years 2012 to 2015, but still the work was not done. The recently released White House budget for fiscal year 2019 reveals that NASA anticipates spending an additional $396.2 million on the mobile launcher from 2015 through the maiden launch of the SLS, probably in 2020.Therefore, from the tower's inception in 2009, NASA will have spent $912 million on the mobile launcher it may use for just a single launch of the SLS rocket. Moreover, the agency will have required eight years to modify a launch tower it built in two years.https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/02/nasa-spends-1-billion-for-a-launch-tower-that-leans-may-only-be-used-once/
Mobile launcher money discussed above is a small fraction (~20%) of $500M annually for ground development -- $2.5B approx. between 2012-2017 -- so real question is where did all that go?