The Journey to Mars, Part 1


Photo and illustration Credit: NASA, unless noted otherwise.

[[  Most recent Update 28 November 2015: corrected spelling and grammatical errors. ]]

Hello.  It has been quite a while since I have posted anything here on Blogspot, and I hope to be more attentive in the future.

My life has changes a great deal during my absence, and that’s a story for another day. (if ever).

During the past four years, or so, I have been very interested in "space travel" in general and NASA’s activity in particular.  The end of the Space Shuttle era was a bit disturbing, but after downloading and studying NASA’s plan for The Voyage to Mars I think it was a wise decision.

Be that as it may, over the next several weeks (months?) I plan to post information here that is of particular interest to me, and I hope it will be of interest to readers.  So, let us  (YOU & I) begin . . .

At the heart of The Voyage to Mars is the new Space Launch System (SLS) which includes 4 versions of the Space Launch System (SLS) Rocket.



The photo shows a Block 1 SLS Rocket on its way to the launch pad for its first integrated test.

"Block 1" ??

Yes, NASA has its own way of naming things.  The Bock 1 version is simply the first of the 4 SLS Rockets to be built.  More about that, later.  Meanwhile, the illustration, below, shows the CORE Stage (in blue) and an illustration of the sections that make up the "Core".



The fuel tanks (shown in yellow) occupy most of the Core Stage - the large tank holds Liquid Hydrogen, the smaller tank holds Liquid Oxygen.

More details are shown in the chart, below . . .

 


Each of the four versions will be larger and more powerful that any rocket that has ever been built, including the mighty Saturn 5 rockets that launched astronauts to the moon.

All 4 versions of the SLS Rockets are shown below for comparison.



SLS Block 1, on the left is for unmanned testing missions in near earth and cislunar space.

Next, SLS Block 1B Crew is for manned missions in near earth and cislunar space.

Next, SLS 1B Cargo  is for delivering cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) and cislunar destinations.

Next (on the far right) SLS Block 2 Cargo is for delivering massive cargo to cislunar space and to Mars. 

This new fleet of rockets will provide launch capability for missions into cislunar space and deep space far beyond the moon, including missions to asteroids and eventually missions that will carry humans to Mars.  The manned missions to Mars are currently scheduled for the mid 2030s.

Notice the "strap-on" boosters on each version of the SLS Rocket.  These boosters add considerable Thrust to get off the launch pad and into orbit.  More about that, later.

Meanwhile, here is a photo of one of the boosters on a unique ground transport vehicle . . .

That’s probably more than enough for an introductory post.

More details coming up in future posts as I get them ready for "prime time".

Meanwhile, keep looking up - -  there are wonderful and amazing things to be seen up there in the night sky.