With high probability, both SLS Block I and the Falcon Heavy will be flying in 2018–19. Both feature side-mounted boosters around a central core stage, topped by a second stage and then its payload. With the recent success of their Falcon Heavy launch, SpaceX may seem like the current leader of the space industry. In 2010, NASA began developing the Space Launch System (SLS), and upon completion, it will be the most powerful rocket in history (yes, including Falcon Heavy). That means the modified RS-25 engine exceeded the absolute limit of efficiency possible when NASA built it decades ago by a whopping 13 percent. NASA's Saturn V Rocket. The as-designed SLS also has a slightly higher payload into low-Earth orbit – 77 tons versus 70 tons – but proposed future improvements could skyrocket the SLS up to 130 tons. However, the flight manifest provided by SpaceX shows a total of five Falcon Heavy flights,10 including a test flight. Which scenario works better for you as a customer is not simple to evaluate. For its initial mission, Exploration Mission 1, SLS will fly a crewless capsule around the Moon, and future missions are set to explore the surface of the Moon, Mars, and far beyond. Falcon 9 Full Thrust (expended) United States: SpaceX: 22,800: 8,300: 4,020 to TMI 15: … This article seeks to provide an objective comparison the two craft and to place the “competition” between them into context. The SpaceX Falcon Heavy can carry 63.8 metric tons (70-tons) to low earth orbit. Once the Heavy starts flying, it will be able to do most of what SLS can do, for a much cheaper price. Since SpaceX is no longer publishing a full capacity price for the FH, we will adjust $135 million upward by the same ratio that the “under 6.4 MT” price has risen, yielding a price of $158 million. This massive booster will have more lift capacity than the Since no SLS throw weight numbers are available for GTO, we will focus on cost to LEO. This is clearly a speculative topic, but given that SpaceX has been making continued progress toward this goal, a prospective customer has to consider the scenario that, by 2018, full first stage reuse for both F9 and FH will have been demonstrated. On February 21, the agency tested one of those engines, and it reached a remarkable 113 percent thrust level. In this situation you could buy five or six FH launches for each SLS launch. It’s free to join, sign up now! The “fairing” is a structure that protects the payload as the rocket rises through Earth’s atmosphere and generally correlates to the size of the payload being launched. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with prior written permission of Futurism. It is possible that a combination of a few SLS Block I launches with many FH launches would produce an optimal result. The equivalent figure for SLS is 70 MT to LEO. This suggests that SpaceX intends to charge more for the full capacity of the FH, so we will use the $135 million dollar figure for lifting 53 MT to LEO on a FH. If you want to launch a large probe to the outer planets at high velocity, SLS has that capability. But should the Falcon Heavy prove successful, it will likely be recognized as the natural successor to the Saturn V. Ever since the latter was retired in 1973, NASA … Although SpaceX puts list prices on its web page, the information provided for the FH only concerns launches to GTO. Since the SLS has not been designed for reusability, a situation could evolve where the cost to launch on FH is not one-third of the SLS price, but perhaps far less, such as one-sixth the SLS. Copyright ©, Singularity Education Group All Rights Reserved. In the 2018–19 timeframe, it seems reasonable to assume that you can buy at least three FH launches for the price of one SLS launch. However, 2021 is six years from now, and six years ago SpaceX was flying the Falcon 1. It would appear from a customer viewpoint that the technical risk and readiness risk in SLS Block I and the Falcon Heavy are similar, at least up to first launch. To support the launch of the SLS, NASA is modifying a launch tower originally designed for another rocket. See our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement. Both use proven existing second stages without significant modification: the ICPS and the Falcon 9 second stage. There are a lot of risk-related similarities between the SLS and the FH. According to NASA, the February 21 hot fire also tested the RS-25’s flight controller and a 3D-printed engine component. However, while Musk’s aerospace company is new and exciting, NASA isn’t finished pushing the boundaries of space flight and exploration. Neither has flown yet, but the day is drawing near when both are planned to blast off. That rocket would be named the Space Launch System (SLS) ... “Raptor is a very large LOX/methane engine which we are working on as a follow-on to Falcon Heavy, a Super Heavy … The SLS Planners Guide Figure 4-3 shows “Net Payload System Mass to Earth Escape.” This chart shows the “Characteristic energy” or energy in excess of that needed for escape velocity to reach distant targets like Mars and Jupiter. SpaceX estimates the Falcon Heavy currently will deliver 53,000 kilgrams, or 53 metrics tonnes, to the same orbit. So far, Falcon Heavy has not needed to fly in expendable mode and that may never happen. SpaceX plans to begin testing a powerful methane-liquid oxygen engine code-named “Raptor” at NASA Stennis.12 The target specifications for the Raptor have varied over time, and most recently have moved to 2.2 million newtons (500,000 pounds-force) of thrust, substantially greater than the 670,000 newtons (150,000 pounds-force) of the Merlin 1D. So let’s put these numbers in a table and take a look at them: On a per metric ton basis, the difference is dramatic. Subscribe to our daily newsletter to keep in touch with the subjects shaping our future. One advantage of this basic design approach is that solid rocket boosters provide more thrust for a given size and weight, making them good candidates to initially boost a large rocket to orbit. falcon heavy = 63,800 kilograms to LEO SLS = 70,000 to 130,000 kg to LEO SLS Block I provides a fairing that is 5 meters in diameter and 19 meters long. Precisely which orbit SpaceX is referring to as “to Mars” is not immediately clear from their web site. The ICPS is a modified Delta IV upper stage. While it can’t match the capacity of the SLS, it shows commercial spaceflight is capable of building larger rockets. The small SLS version is just around 70 tons to LEO, while after upgrade it should be 130 tons while Falcon heavy is only around 63 tons and less when in reusable mode I guess. With the SLS snaffling the best part of a $2bn per year funding pot, and SpaceX supremo Elon Musk estimating that a Falcon Heavy would cost $150m “at most,” it doesn’t take NASA-level genius to work out that one SLS equals, er, a lot of Falcon Heavy fire sticks. Spaceflight Insider, dated March 20, 2014. This results in the use of two extended five-segment SRBs that are much the same as the shuttle SRBs, and a central core stage based around the same liquid-oxygen/liquid-hydrogen engines that powered the Space Shuttle. The method most favorable to the SLS8 would be to use the estimate provided by Dan Dumbacher, the former NASA deputy administrator for Exploration System Development: “What we are trying to do is get SLS into that $500 to $700 million per-flight range and some of us are working to actually get it even lower than that.”9 In order to use the best possible yet reasonable number for SLS, let’s take the average of Dumbacher’s numbers to get an estimate of $600 million for the SLS Block 1. Will NASA get there first with the "Exploration mission 2"? That tower has cost NASA nearly $1 billion, and it may require additional improvements in the future. Arguments based on speculation that the sources used in this paper are not accurate. The SLS Block I will be an option for missions beyond GTO, and especially for deep space. This discussion is not amendable to easy resolution and clearly depends on a number of still unknown variables, such as the fundamental reliability of the SLS and the FH. Thus, the FH is not optimized for maximum terminal velocity or maximum payload to beyond Earth orbit (BEO) locations; instead, the goal is maximum payload to LEO for minimum cost, coupled with a significant geosynchronous Transfer orbit (GTO) payload for a minimum cost. Will SpaceX deliver two space tourists to the Moon in 2018? We will assume that SpaceX will charge the same price for a FH mission to LEO. In any case, the fully reusable Falcon “Next” is expected be built around the new Raptor engine, creating a true heavy lift vehicle that will be the core of SpaceX’s planned trips to Mars.13 This new Falcon may or may not be operational in 2021, but it is fair to say that it is not appropriate to compare the Falcon Heavy of 2015 to the SLS Block IB/Block IIB of 2021 to 2030. SpaceX say the Falcon Heavy provides around 5 million lbs of thrust at liftoff, but each launch costs a fraction of what it will cost to launch the SLS. The Block 1 system supports a five-meter payload fairing, and can put 70 metric tons (MT) into low Earth orbit (LEO). Both the center core of the Falcon Heavy and the attached boosters are more or less Falcon 9 core stages. Originally Answered: How powerful is The Falcon Heavy rocket in comparison to the NASA SLS and the Saturn 5 rocket? However, these similarities belie vastly different design philosophies. It is also interesting to note that there has been an upward drift in the pricing for the FH over the last year, from $77.1 million to the current $90 million. If you want to put a large amount of mass into LEO, the throw weights are similar. How will customers evaluate the SLS and the FH then? So SLS will deliver more in one launch, but let's take a look at the actual cost per kilogram: SLS numbers are not that easy to find either. An added level of confusion results from SpaceX saying that the FH price is $90 million for “Up to 6.4 MT to GTO.” Given that the full capacity of the FH shown is 21.2 MT to GTO, it is not completely obvious how to interpret the published pricing relative to the full capacity. The usage of liquid oxygen/RP-1 instead of liquid oxygen/hydrogen engines provides less thrust and results in a lower terminal velocity, but it also runs cooler, putting less wear and tear on the engines and promoting the goal of reusability. This description may sound like the SLS is cobbled together from old parts, which is true on some level, but considerable efforts have been made to optimize and modernize those “old parts” to create a more manufacturable vehicle.4. NASA’s powerful heavy lift rocket appears to be in trouble yet again as the agency is openly considering hiring commercial spacecraft to ferry astronauts and heavy cargo into orbit, and letting the Space Launch System dangle with a vague request for more time. For reasons unknown to the author, the first 70MT version of SLS is referred to by NASA as the “Block I” version but the second 105MT version is referred to as the “Block IA” version and the 130MT version as the “Block IIB” version. Clearly cost to the customer will be a very important consideration. The SLS and FH appear to be designed with very different goals in mind, which may seem like an apples-to-oranges comparison. Various terms have been used to refer to the Falcon “Next,” including Falcon X/XX, BFR (Big Fracking Rocket) and MCT (Mars Colonial Transport). The FH seems a clear winner for customers wanting to launch less than 53 MT to LEO and 21.1 MT to GTO. One of the arguments for Falcon Heavy is that it delivers oodles of launch capacity for comparatively low cost compared to what SLS is costing, and that launch capacity is relevant to exploration or space program uses with approaches to harness it. This is a relatively simple comparison to make. Nasa’s Space Launch System cuts short vital test. Falcon Heavy is also reusable, while the SLS is not, which will affect future launch costs. The best approach for major cislunar activities such as an Earth-Moon L2 waystation or a lunar base will require a complex analysis to evaluate the tradeoffs between launching a few large payloads and a larger number of smaller payloads. One possibility is that SpaceX is making use of “value pricing” where prices have little relationship to underlying costs, but instead are based on value to the customer. This is a relatively simple comparison to make. NASA's 363-foot-tall Saturn V launch vehicle is the largest … Both are doing some development on the first stage, although clearly since both first stages are built around existing engines, the amount of new development is modest. The high-energy (high specific impulse) upper stage assures the maximum possible terminal velocity and opens up the widest possible range of destinations. NASA is modifying the retired space shuttle’s RS-25 engines to power this rocket. The space community frequently demonstrates a great deal of interest in the Space Launch System (SLS) and the Falcon Heavy (FH). Yes, it would be cheaper to use a different vehicle. And while there’s nothing wrong or problematic with needing more time to make sure your rocket is built the right way and can … This article is more than 2 months old. In the 2018–19 timeframe, it seems reasonable to assume that you can buy at least three FH launches for the price of one SLS launch. As Elon Musk noted during the post-Falcon Heavy launch press conference, the craft cost about $500 million to develop. NASA has repeatedly pushed back the SLS’s launch date, but as of November 2017, the agency has their eyes on a 2020 launch. The Falcon Heavy has flow three times and has 90% of the lift capacity of the version of the SLS. On the other side we find the advocates of in-space assembly and fuel depots, claiming that it is cheaper to go with many launches of a less expensive system. NASA’s Perseverance Rover Just Turned Martian CO2 Into Oxygen, NASA’s Mars Helicopter Achieves Flight on Red Planet, NASA: That’s Not a Rainbow We Photographed on Mars, NASA Releases Breathtaking Rover Photo of “Rainbow” on Mars, Elon Musk Reveals Why Last Starship Prototype Exploded Before Landing, New Vid Shows NASA’s Mars Helicopter Kicking Up Dust During Flight, China’s Space Station Will Have a Hubble-Class Telescope Attached, Russia Confirms That It’s Abandoning the International Space Station. To launch less than 53 MT discovering a real price for the FH immediately clear from their web site,. N'T seem to be no earlier than November 2018 $ 1 billion, and can! Come 2018, customers will face the choice between these two launch systems no SLS weight... Central core stage, topped by a potential customer in favor of the items being compared, considers... Rises from 6.4 MT to LEO in fully expendable mode and that may never happen 2011... 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