Sad Political factors

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From CNN:
"Hydrogen is sometimes considered more trouble than it’s worth, given its propensity to trigger launch delays. However, the fuel also offers the best efficiency advantage when it’s used in the vacuum of space.

Orbital rockets built by Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin or Elon Musk’s SpaceX, for example, make use of alternative fuels — such as methane or RP-1, a type of kerosene — for their rockets’ first stages.

But NASA’s Artemis moon rocket, called the Space Launch System or SLS, uses hydrogen for both the upper and first-stage portions of the vehicle.

And there is one not-so-obvious reason why: 'It was ultimately a congressional decision that came through via law that NASA had to use Shuttle hardware and Shuttle workforces and contractors to do the SLS,' said Casey Dreier, the chief of space policy at the nonprofit Planetary Society.

In other words, the SLS uses hydrogen in part because the Space Shuttle also used hydrogen, and lawmakers wanted the SLS program to largely preserve the Shuttle-era workforces and supply chains.

The hydrogen leaks NASA is grappling with today are a symptom of that decision, Dreier added. Opting to attempt to cobble together pieces of an old program for new rockets — rather than starting from scratch — 'actually shifted a lot of consequences and cost when it comes to trying to operate the rocket.'

And while all rockets that make use of hydrogen are susceptible to frustrating leaks, NASA’s issues with SLS may be exacerbated by its political quirks.

'It’ll never operate as well as if they designed a new rocket. It’ll have high overhead costs. And you have finicky rockets.'"


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