NASA's Costly SLS Rocket

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Scientific American

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In the annals of U.S. pork barrel spending, NASA’s Space Launch System is a monument to Sunbelt socialism

Summary

Nutrition label

68% Informative

NASA 's Space Launch System rocket will cost $5.7 billion for the first launch, and its Orion capsule will cost orders of magnitude more than their reusable competitors per launch.

Each launch will throw away left-over reusable space shuttle engines, making them dead ends as innovations.

The next president should announce that NASA will swiftly transition away from this $23 billion white elephant.

Winding SLS down will give NASA time to plan a realistic moon program, one that moves astronaut landings into the doable 2030s .

The extra time will allow for assured development of reliable landers and precursor science, led by the NASA centers moving away from SLS , as well as a critical examination of the actual need for a lunar orbit “Gateway” space station planned to support landings.

VR Score

Informative language

Neutral language

Article tone

formal

Language

English

Language complexity

Offensive language

not offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

detected

Known propaganda techniques

not detected

Time-value

short-lived

External references

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