Can Orion Fly Around The Moon Without SLS?

On March 13th Jim Bridenstine told a Senate Commerce Committee that NASA was investigating switching the Orion capsule's first lunar mission from the SLS to a commercial launch vehicle. In terms of payload the SLS is more capable than any commercial option at this time, so any plan to launch this mission on a commercial rocket would require two launches and a docking.

[FireFox]

By the time SLS is ready I'll have already finished half life 3 campaign…

[tomparmenter]

Just add two more falcon 9s to make falcon superheavy. That's what I'll do!

[paulmichaelfreedman]

as always, finish a multibillion project 80%, then cancel it. It ensures work because there has to be a replacement for what has been cancelled. Rinse, repeat. Perfect method, tried and tested for over 60 years!

[MostlyPennyCat]

"How would you refuel an LH/LOX rocket in space?"
..ahem..
_Carefully_

[zapfanzapfan]

Sounds like a warning to the SLS project that patience is not infinite.

[EnderMalcolm]

The usual KSP thought process to get to the Mun...:
"I don't have powerful engines unlocked yet, so I can't haul lots of fuel... MORE SRBS!" *Explodes launch pad on take off, forgets landing gear, misses the moon and orbits Jool instead.*
"Success!"

[mightylink]

25 tons always sounds so small to me now that I've played kerbal so much. Just tell NASA to use moar boosters!

[simonebonfanti]

I just love how you actually took the time to recreate a simulation to explain everything on ksp... awesome

[ThinkSleepLeave]

I have been watching your videos more than often clicking on my recommended ones. So I subscribed :) Great content!

[TechyBen]

How about Amazon Prime? Could they not just use that special offer?

[JoshKaufmanstuff]

If I didn't know any better, I'd say this was the first step to transitioning away from SLS all together and opening the door for reliable, affordable spacecraft.
Everyone knows (and presumably Jim bridenstine) that fully expendable rockets are a gateway to nowhere.
The insult to the injury is that despite reusing every piece of proven hardware possible, SLS still can't get off the ground.
Is this a political play to pry the funding away from the ULA, one missed contract at a time?
At the very least, it lights a fire under the SLS with the message that waistefull slothfulness will no longer be rewarded with Cost + contracts.
(i.e. if you can't do it, we'll get someone else who can)

[NelsonBrown]

2:18 - if anyone is thinking of making this a standard way to get crewed Orions to the Moon, consider launching the TLI booster first, then the crew. Just in case the second launch is delayed, the booster probably doesn't mind waiting in orbit for a while.

[fireflyf]

"... slipping to 2021..."

Ah, the days of optimism.

[donjones]

I may have finally cracked the FH problem. FH can deliver the Orion/ESM/ICPS to LEO, but supposedly not to the energetic orbit required for the ICPS to make a small orbital burn, then TLI. And FH not crew-rated. BUT, only a relatively small amount of delta-v is missing, from what I can tell.

Proposal: Launch the Orion stack to a fairly high LEO uncrewed (has less mass than FH can get to "basic LEO", so higher LEO is reasonable). Launch the crew on a Dragon. Dock nose to nose. (Uses existing docking adapters, no hardware development needed like other assembly-in-LEO proposals.) Fire up the Dragon, use all fuel of Super Dracos, then all fuel of Dracos. Crew then transfers to Orion, Dragon is separated. Now going fast enough (I hope) for ICPS to make the small orbital burn. I know, the Dragon doesn't contribute a lot of delta-v, but only a little bit more is needed. And remember, the ISS has its orbit boosted by Soyuz and Cygnus cargo craft. The docking collars and other structures can take this amount of force. (This may be at the cost of the Dragon. Still cheaper than SLS.)

Edit: Also possible - put extra fuel tanks in the cargo trunk of Dragon.

[Jona]

Might as well wait for Starship, good chance that will reach orbit before sls.

[AntoineThisdale]

Seeing you still provide a lot of content using KSP always makes me want to play this game again. Go through the learning curve over and over lol. on that note, it might be time for an updated video guide for the best visual mods and such ;)

[chrishunter]

Yeah, NASA would never launch a spacecraft for the very first time with people on board




Actually yes they have: STS-1

[benitollan]

Yes it can fly around the moon without SLS. The problem is getting there without SLS.
Ba dum tss

[quaternarytetrad]

One name comes to mind: SEA DRAGON!!!!

[Ojisan]

Seems like abandoning SLS has opened up more options for getting Orion to the moon... NASA should just put the mission out to bid and let everyone put their proposals forward, and may the best company win.