Jul 13, 2011 07:04 GMT  ·  By
This is the NASA Space Launch System (SLS) reference vehicle design baseline
   This is the NASA Space Launch System (SLS) reference vehicle design baseline

The US Congress gave the American space agency until mid-January 2011 to come up with a new design for the Space Launch System (SLS), the next-generation heavy-lift rocket. NASA failed to do so, and Administrator Charles Bolden took the heat for it yesterday.

He was called to testify in front of the US House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, which oversees spending budgets for NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), among others.

During the meeting, which took place on Capitol Hill on July 12, panel members bombarded the NASA chief with questions and accusations, trying to determine why selecting a SLS design is so many months behind schedule.

The SLS is a vital part of the new US space exploration program, as its job will to carry American astronauts on deep-space missions, to Mars, the Moon, near-Earth asteroids, and maybe even beyond.

“We've waited for answers that have not come. We've pleaded for answers that have not come. We've run out of patience. The White House has done you wrong, but nonetheless you have to answer for these continued failures,” committee chairman Ralph Hall (R-Texas) said.

The leader of the committee – which is made up of 23 Republicans and 17 Democrats – is joined by many others in criticizing the White House for canceling Project Constellation and providing no feasible alternative for space exploration.

Project Constellation included a heavy-lift delivery system, called ARES V. While the design was complex, and the rocket still in the early stages of development, it showed great promise and capabilities. The SLS will not reach the level of performance envisioned for ARES V.

Many Republicans in Congress view US President Barack Obama's course of action as responsible for the current problems plaguing the space agency. However, Bolden stood up for the president at the meeting.

“You have the right guy here to criticize. I am the leader of America's space program,” he said. Bolden added that a design is already finished, and said that the agency is simply waiting on cost estimates.

The Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) will be the primary spacecraft for NASA in the coming decades, and the SLS will need to be capable of carrying it to any destination. However, the agency has yet to decide on an overall design for the rocket.

“I share that interest and urgency. But we cannot rush a critical decision that will drive NASA's activities for decades,” Bolden explained, quoted by Space.

“It would be irresponsible to proceed further until we at least have good estimates. This will most likely be the most important decision I make as the NASA administrator, and I want to get it right,” he concluded.