NASA高官、次世代大型打上げロケットは「低コストの実現が目的」

SpaceNews(4/15)
Heavy Launcher のRFIは一度ブースタLOX/ケロシン、上段LOX/メタン or LOX/LH2 に限定して発行された後、より広いオプションを選択肢とするように差し替えられたが、Constellation Program の deputy director の Cris Guidi氏は、広いオプションを検討するものの、次の大型打上げロケットに求めるのは打上げコストの低減であると明言。

Guidi said the goal of NASA’s heavy-lift research and development effort ― budgeted at $3.1 billion between 2011 and 2015 ― is to make space launch more affordable, not necessarily produce the kind of technological breakthroughs called for in other parts of Obama’s space exploration plan.
(中略)
“It’s to drop the cost of launch, and the propulsion system is the predominant cost factor in any launch system,” she said. “But it’s more to stabilize the industrial base and maintain the critical skills of propulsion-system development in the U.S.”
(中略)
“Our goal is affordability. Let’s not build that Maserati. Let’s make do with maybe a Toyota, as long as we get our mission accomplished in an affordable, reliable, operable manner. That’s our best approach rather than having a system that operates on the margins and is very intricate.”