back to article 13 CubeSats to ride mighty US lifter

NASA has named seven of the 13 CubeSats which will, along with an unmanned Orion capsule, ride atop the Space Launch System (SLS) for the heavy lifter's first launch in 2018. While the principal objective of the Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) is to carry Orion "to a stable orbit beyond the moon to demonstrate the integrated …

  1. JeffyPoooh
    Pint

    Cubesats in deep space?

    Crikey. That'll keep the big dishes busy.

    Amusing quote: "...Why is it in a sheep paddock?" Recognize it?

    1. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

      Re: Cubesats in deep space?

      What, no S.I.D.?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Coat

        Re: Cubesats in deep space?

        Bit too big for a cubesat, anyway its already in place

        Mines the one with Telstar in the pocket

  2. TRT Silver badge

    Quite a lot of redundant space junk coming off that thing. Panels detaching and so forth...

    1. DasBub

      It's not space junk. Those things are jettisoned before reaching orbital velocity, so they'll fall back in short order.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Go

        Junk

        What have they done to prevent the cubesats becoming space junk at EOL

  3. Christoph

    That video of the engine test - why is there so much smoke from an engine that's burning hydrogen and oxygen? It can't be steam, it would be too hot to condense that quick and it doesn't behave right.

    1. Vulch

      Just like at lift-off in an actual flight, there's a water deluge system running to stop the test stand melting.

    2. Inventor of the Marmite Laser Silver badge

      It IS steam

      Stand (a long way) downwind and you'll get rained on

    3. Lars Silver badge

      It also lessens the noise causing vibration and the river is handy and economical for all that water.

  4. Horridbloke

    Space Launch System?

    NASA should have gone the whole hog and called it Up Goer Seven.

    (Or possibly eight or nine. Shuttle aside I'm not sure what else they've done since Apollo. Yes, I realise there's been other stuff)

  5. Inventor of the Marmite Laser Silver badge

    70 tons lift?

    Go on, lets have a tank in space

    1. allthecoolshortnamesweretaken

      Re: 70 tons lift?

      Something like this?

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQg1bbml1Ms

      http://www.rz-journal.de/Downl/1864.html

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Thumb Up

        Re: 70 tons lift?

        Wait until you have a Bolo Mk XXX Continetal Seige Engine to lift!

    2. Phil O'Sophical Silver badge
      Unhappy

      Re: 70 tons lift?

      SLS's "Block 1" configuration, capable of lifting 70 metric tonnes. Ultimately, NASA hopes the evolved system will provide "an unprecedented lift capability of 130 metric tons"

      50 years on, and they've only just managed to reinvent the Saturn V. I'll bet it costs a tad more, though.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: 70 tons lift?

      I lift 70 tons and that's all the tanks I get?

  6. Pete4000uk

    Launch cost

    The shuttle cost about $450 million to launch and I read somewhere the SLS would cost almost double.

    Do they really know what this will be used for?

    1. annodomini2

      Re: Launch cost

      The aim is for 'deep' space manned missions, i.e. The Moon, 'Roids, maybe Mars depending on the Political situation at the time.

    2. John Smith 19 Gold badge
      Unhappy

      "Do they really know what this will be used for?"

      In a word. No.

      So far they've got 4 flights which are basically Orion shakedowns with maybe an asteroid meeting

      the whole lot (including the preeeding CxP) programme currently probably tops $20Bn with 1 launch (that of the Ares 1x upgraded SRB + dummy 2nd stage) to show for it.

    3. hplasm
      Coat

      Re: Launch cost

      "Do they really know what this will be used for?"

      Dozens of small cube-shaped astronauts. Or pork.

      Or square pigs?

      1. I ain't Spartacus Gold badge
        Happy

        Re: Launch cost

        Yuummm. Sweet and sour Hong Kong style pork, IIIIIN SPPAAAAAAAAAAAACE!

  7. Sleep deprived
    Trollface

    Cube sat not so cubic

    A cube has the same dimension in all three axis. Those are rectangular cuboid sats at best ;)

    1. hplasm
      Black Helicopters

      Re: Cube sat not so cubic

      Rectangular PRISM sats?

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