An artist's conception from 1971 shows how an orbital fuel depot could boost deep-space trips. Critics of NASA's Space Launch System say fuel depots could eliminate the need for super-rockets.
NASA, the White House and congressional leaders say they're happy about a big new rocket design for going beyond Earth orbit, but many observers of the commercial space industry are already wondering whether this $35 billion trip is necessary.
They worry that the newly announced Space Launch System, or SLS, will soak up too much of NASA’s budget and preclude the development of next-generation technologies such as on-orbit refueling stations for outbound spacecraft. A different approach might not require the decade-long development of a super-rocket, and still open the way for journeys to Mars well before the 2030-2040 time frame laid out in NASA's current plan for future spaceflight.
Read More: http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/09/14/7763894-big-questions-about-big-rockets
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