The United States Space Agency (NASA) said Wednesday it plans to launch a powerful first rocket to travel into deep space, known as the Space Launch System (SLS), by the end of 2018.
The SLS has been in development for three years, and when completed should be able to propel spacecraft beyond Earth orbit and eventually launch vehicles with crew to Mars in 2030.
The agency completed its review of the project, which is a formal commitment to this version of the SLS 70 metric tons, the development until the first pitch will cost about 7,021,000 dollars.
"The program is becoming a reality, which means progress," said William Gerstenmaier, Associate Human and Mission Operations Directorate at NASA's Exploration Manager.
"We will keep the teams working towards a more ambitious you are ready to date, but will be ready no later than November 2018," he said.
However, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report last month that questioned the funding plan for the SLS agency, saying it "could be $ 400 million less than what the program needs."
The SLS is the first vehicle to launch this type of NASA in the last 40 years, the space agency estimated that the total costs for the development of the first three variants of SLS is 12,000 million.
The SLS "provides an unprecedented climb capability of 130 metric tons (143 tons), will allow missions to go even further in our solar system, including destinations such as asteroids and Mars," said the agency.
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