space launch system 8.2014
Artist concept of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) 70-metric-ton configuration launching to space. SLS will be the most powerful rocket ever built for deep space missions, including to an asteroid and ultimately to Mars. (NASA/MSFC image)
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – The U.S. space program is on a "clear path" to explore beyond low-earth orbit and eventually travel to Mars, U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks said Thursday.
"And SLS is how we'll get there," Brooks said in a statement.
Brooks referred to the Space Launch System, the heavy-lift NASA rocket under development at Marshall Space Flight Center at Redstone Arsenal.
SLS cleared a critical hurdle this week when the giant rocket moved past Key Decision Point C – something no U.S. space vehicle has done since the space shuttle. It moves SLS from the designing and testing stage to building and integrating the rocket's flight hardware.
"The United States is on a clear path to explore beyond low earth orbit . . . to capture and study asteroids, to the Moon, to Mars, and beyond, and SLS is how we'll get there," Brooks said in his statement. "Passing this rigorous review is a huge milestone for SLS and for America's space program.
"Capturing asteroids or putting a man on Mars used to sound like science fiction, but thanks to the hard work and dedication of the Marshall Space Flight Center SLS team and support organizations, it is now a reality. The fact is, the first humans who will step foot on Mars are already alive today, and now, their spacecraft begins full development."