Will SLS play a relevant role in US spaceflight?

[phoenix2020]

Not much of a surprise but yes, the SLS slips again. And, while NASA's other space programs appear to be highly successful, and SpaceX is raising the bar practically every month, the SLS boondoggle continues to burn money. I am close to believing that by the time SLS is ready for use, its capabilities will be met by SpaceX launch vehicles and at a dramatically lower cost, rendering it obsolete. SpaceX is simply iterating far, far faster.

Thoughts?

The launch of NASA’s titanic SLS rocket slips toward summer 2022

The rocket will now roll out of its Florida hangar no earlier than mid-February.

arstechnica.com

 

[Gateman_Wen]

Not much of a surprise but yes, the SLS slips again. And, while NASA's other space programs appear to be highly successful, and SpaceX is raising the bar practically every month, the SLS boondoggle continues to burn money. I am close to believing that by the time SLS is ready for use, its capabilities will be met by SpaceX launch vehicles and at a dramatically lower cost, rendering it obsolete. SpaceX is simply iterating far, far faster.

Thoughts?

The launch of NASA’s titanic SLS rocket slips toward summer 2022

The rocket will now roll out of its Florida hangar no earlier than mid-February.

arstechnica.com

It's already basically obsolete.

 

[phoenix2020]

This will come as no surprise to anyone but... delayed again!

https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/02/nasa-delays-sls-rocket-rollout-says-launch-date-is-¯_ツ_-¯/

NASA has a launch window from April 8 to April 23. To make it, NASA would have to stick to the mid-March rollout, execute the wet dress test in a timely manner, and identify exactly zero significant issues that need to be fixed prior to launch. Should all of that happen, it's conceivable that NASA could bring the rocket back to the Vehicle Assembly Building, outfit the SLS with its final pyrotechnics, and roll it back to the launch pad for a late April launch.

It's also possible that unicorns could dance in a Florida flame duct sometime this spring.