U.S. Heavy-Lift Effort Inches Ahead

摘要

In his April 15 speech at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., U.S. President Barack Obama said the space agency would spend the next five years studying new technologies and materials before settling on a heavy-lift rocket design. But NASA documents and comments from agency officials suggest the White House already has a design firmly in mind.rnOn May 3 NASA issued a request for information that gives U.S. aerospace firms roughly three weeks to volunteer ideas for a versatile, liquid-fueled heavy-lift rocket that incorporates a first-stage engine that burns a mixture of liquid oxygen (LOX) and kerosene to produce at least 1 million pounds of thrust.