/sci/ - Science & Math

I’m doing some alt history stuff right now/
Assume SpaceX never existed or failed early. Also assume that SLS is the current program. But, Jim Bridenstine is in charge (it’s late 2010’s).
Do you think NASA would make a “commercial cargo” esque contract for a heavy lift vehicle? Not SLS-sized but something the size of Falcon Heavy? The issue is that SLS flies once per year, and that’s horribly unsustainable if NASA wants to go to Mars.
ULA has drawn up plans for 30-100 ton to LEO evolutions of Atlas V for instance

>>15012900
So you’re telling me that unless Starliner can fly on Vulcan, it’s going into the trash in after less than 10 flights?

>>15012908
By 2030, the ISS won’t exist anymore.

>>15012912
Honestly, most post-Atlas V plans used dual RD-180s. Unless someone developed an American version, US spaceflight would be fucked.
It’s interesting to note that a Delta IV heady using six RD-180s and kerosene would be able to put 80 tons into LEO.