NASA is gearing up to launch its most powerful rocket for making way for future deep space exploration. The first flight of the Space Launch System (SLS) will take place in the year 2018.
The rocket will not only carry an unmanned Orion spacecraft but will also take with it 13 mini-satellites or CubeSats for testing innovative ideas.
The mission is referred to as the Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), and it will provide an opportunity for small experiments to reach deep space destinations. Most of these CubeSats launch opportunities remain limited to low-earth orbit.
The design of the SLS rocket will be such as to hold a 77-ton lift capacity. However, it will eventually be supplying an unparalleled capacity of lifting 143 tons. In future, it will be helpful in enabling other missions to travel into deep space including Mars and an asteroid.
Out of these 13 launching satellites, four of them will be used for studying the Moon, and for other purposes including the search for water ice as well as a few other resources for getting insights on one of Earth’s oldest neighbour.
The deputy associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development at NASA, Bill Hill said that the Space Launch System is providing an excellent opportunity for conducting science missions as well as testing key technologies, which are beyond the low-Earth orbit.
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