https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/07/spacex-to-launch-the-europa-clipper-mission-for-a-bargain-price/ Skip to main content * Biz & IT * Tech * Science * Policy * Cars * Gaming & Culture * Store * Forums Subscribe [ ] Close Navigate * Store * Subscribe * Videos * Features * Reviews * RSS Feeds * Mobile Site * About Ars * Staff Directory * Contact Us * Advertise with Ars * Reprints Filter by topic * Biz & IT * Tech * Science * Policy * Cars * Gaming & Culture * Store * Forums Settings Front page layout Grid List Site theme Black on white White on black Sign in Comment activity Sign up or login to join the discussions! [ ] [ ] [Submit] [ ] Stay logged in | Having trouble? Sign up to comment and more Sign up Jovian explorer -- SpaceX to launch the Europa Clipper mission for a bargain price Decision comes after shaking issue with SLS rocket made it untenable. Eric Berger - Jul 23, 2021 8:45 pm UTC reader comments 143 with 73 posters participating, including story author Share this story * Share on Facebook * Share on Twitter * Share on Reddit * NASA has selected SpaceX's Falcon Heavy to launch the Europa Clipper, the first mission to conduct detailed reconnaissance of the Jovian moon. Trevor Mahlmann * And Falcon Heavy is going to be the rocket to get it there. Here it is clearing the tower on its maiden flight on February 6th, 2018. Trevor Mahlmann * Heavy. Trevor Mahlmann * Heavy. Trevor Mahlmann * More heavy, still. Trevor Mahlmann * Europa Clipper will launch from historic LC-39A to study the vast ocean scientists presume is below its icy shell. Trevor Mahlmann * Europa has the right ingredients essential to support life. Trevor Mahlmann * No simultaneous booster return this time around. Europa Clipper will likely utilize a Falcon Heavy in an expendable configuration with a Star 48 kick stage. Trevor Mahlmann After years of speculation, NASA officially announced Friday that SpaceX's Falcon Heavy would launch what is arguably the space agency's most important Solar System exploration mission of the 2020s--the Europa Clipper. Slated to launch in October 2024, the $4.25 billion mission will spend much of the remainder of this decade flying to the Jovian system before entering an elongated orbit around Jupiter. The spacecraft will then make as many as 44 flybys of Europa, the intriguing, ice-encrusted Jovian moon that scientists believe harbors a vast ocean beneath the surface. It is possible that aquatic life exists there. The total contract award amount for launch services is approximately $178 million, NASA said in a news release. This is a significant moment for SpaceX, as the company will be entrusted with one of NASA's highest-priority exploration missions. The deal also saves NASA about $2 billion. The selection of a launch vehicle for this ambitious mission has been subjected to a long, drawn-out political process. Originally, at the urging of Congress, NASA planned to launch the spacecraft on its Space Launch System rocket. There were two reasons for this. Legislators (particularly US Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.) wanted to find additional missions for the SLS rocket. And second, the powerful SLS rocket had the ability to get the Clipper to Jupiter within about four years. However, many in the scientific community preferred to launch on SpaceX's Falcon Heavy for a variety of reasons. For one, SpaceX offered launch services at a steep discount compared to the SLS rocket, which the White House estimated would cost more than $2 billion for the Clipper mission. Scientists were also concerned that the oft-delayed SLS rocket would simply not be ready for a 2024 launch date, and selecting it would delay the science mission. Advertisement However, politicians continued to insist that NASA launch Clipper on the SLS rocket. Three different events finally forced legislators to relent. First, in late 2018, NASA scientists concluded that the Falcon Heavy could complete the Clipper mission without needing a gravity assist from Venus, and therefore it would not have to go into the inner Solar System. The Falcon Heavy could do so with the addition of a Star 48 "kick stage." (United Launch Alliance's Delta IV Heavy rocket would have necessitated a Venus flyby, significantly increasing the thermal shielding needed on the Clipper spacecraft, so it was eventually ruled out.) Further Reading NASA does not deny the "over $2 billion" cost of a single SLS launch "Nobody is saying we're not going on the SLS," Barry Goldstein, of NASA, said at a meeting in November 2018. "But if by chance we don't, we don't have the challenge of the inner Solar System. This was a major development. This was a big deal for us." Second, after finalizing plans for the Artemis Moon Program, NASA realized that the primary contractor for the SLS rocket's core stage, Boeing, simply was not up to the task of building an additional rocket for the Clipper mission in time. All of the SLS core stages, NASA officials realized, would be needed to support the effort to land humans on the Moon in the mid-2020s. Finally, what forced Shelby and the rest of Congress to give in was a "shaking" issue with the SLS rocket. This large vehicle is powered off the pad by two very large solid rocket boosters that produce significant vibrations. SLS program officials had been telling the agency's leadership that the torsional load--essentially a measurement of twisting and vibration--was a certain value. However, after NASA performed wind-tunnel testing, the actual torsional load value was nearly double the SLS program estimates. Accommodating for this launch stress, NASA officials told Ars, would have required an additional $1 billion in modifications to make the spacecraft more robust. That additional cost was ultimately what led NASA to be able to make Friday's announcement. Listing image by Trevor Mahlmann reader comments 143 with 73 posters participating, including story author Share this story * Share on Facebook * Share on Twitter * Share on Reddit Eric Berger Eric Berger is the senior space editor at Ars Technica, covering everything from astronomy to private space to NASA, and author of the book Liftoff, about the rise of SpaceX. A certified meteorologist, Eric lives in Houston. Email eric.berger@arstechnica.com // Twitter @SciGuySpace Advertisement You must login or create an account to comment. Channel Ars Technica - Previous story Next story - Related Stories Today on Ars * Store * Subscribe * About Us * RSS Feeds * View Mobile Site * Contact Us * Staff * Advertise with us * Reprints Newsletter Signup Join the Ars Orbital Transmission mailing list to get weekly updates delivered to your inbox. Sign me up - CNMN Collection WIRED Media Group (c) 2021 Conde Nast. All rights reserved. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 1/1/20) and Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement (updated 1/1 /20) and Ars Technica Addendum (effective 8/21/2018). Ars may earn compensation on sales from links on this site. Read our affiliate link policy. Your California Privacy Rights | Do Not Sell My Personal Information The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Conde Nast. Ad Choices