The White House is in such a hurry to get to the moon that NASA is considering sidelining SLS

[Elderberry]

The Washington Post By Christian Davenport 3/13/2019

The White House is in such a hurry to get to the moon that NASA is considering sidelining its major rocket to make it happen

The announcement is another blow to Boeing

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said Wednesday that the agency is considering bypassing the long-delayed rocket it’s been building for years for its upcoming mission to the moon, instead considering commercial alternatives.

If that comes to fruition, it would mark a radical change from the way NASA had planned to return to the moon and would be a blow to the Space Launch System, involving a gigantic rocket that a government watchdog recently warned could cost as much as $9 billion.

Bridenstine’s comments, coming during a Senate committee hearing, show how NASA and the White House are getting frustrated with the slow pace of progress. The National Space Council, headed by Vice President Pence, has made a return to the moon a top priority, and officials have said the administration would like it to happen before the 2020 presidential election.

The Space Launch System was supposed to launch the Orion spacecraft in an uncrewed mission in orbit the moon no later than June 2020. But Bridenstine said the agency had recently been informed that there was going to be yet another schedule delay in what’s known as Exploration Mission-1, or EM-1.

More: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2019/03/13/white-house-is-such-hurry-get-moon-that-nasa-is-considering-sidelining-its-major-rocket-make-it-happen/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.7d5ee5d8b979

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

We haven't paid for the first unconstitutional moon trips, who is going to pay for this one?

[RetBobbyMI]

We haven't paid for the first unconstitutional moon trips, who is going to pay for this one?

unconstitutional??? 

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

unconstitutional??? 

I don't see anything that authorizes Congress to spend money on space exploration.

[RetBobbyMI]

I don't see anything that authorizes Congress to spend money on space exploration.

since when has Congress followed the constitution?

[InHeavenThereIsNoBeer]

since when has Congress followed the constitution?

Rarely.  But excusing our pet projects is how we got to the point where they do anything they want.  It's kind of like if "everyone else is doing it" actually worked for kids, sooner or later every kid can say that about everything.

[Elderberry]

Is NASA Preparing to Cancel Its Space Launch System?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nasa-preparing-cancel-space-launch-124900892.html

So long SLS -- we hardly knew ye?

It's beginning to look like this might be the epitaph etched onto NASA's $35 billion Space Launch System megarocket, a towering 322-foot beast of a rocket capable (if it's ever built) of lifting at least 70 metric tons of payload into orbit -- or visiting the moon, or even Mars.

Now, there's no certainty at this date that the Space Launch System, or SLS, will actually be canceled. In fact, responding to reports of delays and funding cuts in the program, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine recently reassured space fans that "NASA is [still] committed to building and flying the SLS."

Then again, the fact that Bridenstine felt compelled to say that at all suggests something is up -- and SLS's future may not be as secure as key contractors Boeing (NYSE: BA), prime contractor on SLS, Northrop Grumman (rocket boosters), Aerojet Rocketdyne (main engines), and Lockheed Martin (which builds the Orion capsule that sits atop all the above) might like.

So how big is the risk here?

Follow the money

Consider the evidence.

The Trump Administration released its Fiscal 2020 Presidential Budget Request for NASA earlier this month, proposing that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration be funded with $21 billion in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 2019. That's nearly a 9% increase from the NASA budget proposed in President Trump's first year in office, but 2% (or about $500 million) less money than Congress awarded the agency last year, for example.

Many programs within NASA are being cut, including funds for earth science projects (down 8%) astrophysics (down 20%), and a "Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope" (phased out entirely). In terms of sheer dollar value, however, few programs got hit harder than the Space Launch System (SLS), which could see its funding cut by $375 million as NASA "defers" development of a planned "Block 1B" upgrade to the rocket's lift capacity .

More at link.