A massive NASA rocket launcher, which cost more than a billion dollars, is bending over, the space agency Space Launch System (SLS) has confirmed.
Fortunately, the slope of the tower does not require corrective actions, NASA officials told NASASpaceFlight.com.
"NASA's mobile launcher has a correct structure, was built to standards and does not require changes in design or modifications," the organization's spokesperson said on Thursday. "As expected, the pitcher is not perfectly still."
The launcher was built for the Ares program, which was intended to support offshore exploration. The Ares V rocket was supposed to deliver cargo to Mars to prepare for a possible human presence on the planet. Ares I was to launch a crew of six astronauts to Mars aboard the Orion spacecraft. The Ares program was canceled in 2010, being replaced by the Space Launch System (SLS) as the main program of exploration of outer space. The launcher that is currently bending has been reused for the SLS.
This failure may be the result of "the combination of welding of the various levels and its modification of the original design of the mobile launcher to the Ares rocket, with the changes introduced in the structure during these modifications and the additional mass," a NASA spokesman said.
"All our forecasts and deviations are now in agreement, which indicates that we have a solid understanding of how much the tower deviates naturally and confirms that no corrective action is necessary," the spokesperson said.
The one billion dollar tower will be used for a single launch when the SLS is launched in 2020, reports Ars Technica.
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