NASA gives permission to build new rocket

NASA has given permission to Boeing to start building parts for the so-called Space Launch System. According to the space agency, this should be the most powerful rocket to date.

That reports NASA. According to the space agency, the Space Launch System has passed the ‘critical design review’. That means that Boeing, which has signed a $2.8 billion contract with NASA, can start building parts for the rocket. It is the first time since the 1970s that a new rocket has passed the critical design review, according to NASA.

With the Space Launch System, NASA wants to be able to perform more different space missions, because the rocket is more powerful than previous versions. For example, a mission is planned to land on an asteroid. Incidentally, a test of the Space Launch System is only planned for 2017.

Earlier this year, the construction of a new Marslander was already approved. This should be usable from 2016. NASA wants to start organizing missions to Mars from 2030.