Advanced Launch System: Difference between revisions

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The '''Advanced Launch System''' (ALS) was a joint [[USAF]] and [[NASA]] study from 1987 to 1990 that began during the post-Challenger period. Colonel John R. Wormington (Brig. Gen., USAF, RetRetd.) was assigned as program director of the Joint Department of Defense and 'NASA Advanced Launch System Program' Office located in Los Angeles, CA AFB.

==The program==

The '''ALS''' was a joint USAF and NASA study from 1987 to 1990 that began during the post-Challenger period. Colonel John R. Wormington (Brig. Gen., USAF, Ret.) was assigned as Program Director of the Joint Department of Defense and NASA Advanced Launch System Program Office, located at Los Angeles, CA AFB; Lt Col Michael C. Mushala (Maj. Gen., USAF, Ret.) was assigned as his Deputy Program Director. Mushala was promoted to Colonel in October 1989 and became Program Director when Wormington was reassigned as commander of the Eastern Space and Missile Center, Patrick AFB, FL in February 1990. Col Mushala closed out the program and the System Program Office (SPO) were disbanded in July 1990 with remaining propulsion development efforts being managed by NASA alone. The total cost of this [[Research_and_development|R&D]] effort was slightly under $3 Billion as it ended earlier than originally planned.

The program's office was unique. in that itIt was the only SPO within Space Systems Division (AFSC) and allowed to be completely furnished with Apple's MacintoshMac OS personal computers instead of the Command's mainline Microsoft Windows OSOperating PCssystems. This was in part because NASA had already been using Apple computers and the joint program needed to be able to communicate between the SPO and the many NASA sites. The SPO also helped pioneer the use and development of what later became the Microsoft Project software application.

The program considered the requirements and launch vehicles for its two primary goals.

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The program had three prime contractors developing concept "Launch Family" systems, each with an $800 million multi-year contract. They were Boeing Aerospace, Martin-Marietta, and General Dynamics for a total program budget of a little less than $2.5 Billion (the cost of just one B-2 bomber). By the end of 1990 the ALS program, once the centerpiece of space planning, had been reduced to a $150 Million per year propulsion development effort.<ref>Finnegan, Philip, "U.S. Air Force, NASA Restructure Advanced Launch System Program," Defense News, 15 January 1990, page 1, 25.</ref>

== FoundingFunding ==

American heavy-lift orbital launch vehicle. The Advanced Launch System (ALS), was a US Air Force funded effort in 1987-1989 to develop a flexible, modular, heavy-lift, high rate space launch vehicle that could deliver payloads to earth orbit at a tenth the cost of existing boosters. Such a vehicle was seen as essential to supporting the launch of the huge numbers of satellites required for deployment of the ‘Star Wars' ballistic missile defense system. With the end of the Cold War, Star Wars was abandoned. The projected launch rate without the Star Wars requirement could never pay back the $15 billion non recurring cost, and the program was ended.

==See also==

* [[Advanced Transportation System Studies]] (1992–1994)

* [[National Launch System]] (1991–1993)

* [[National aerospace plane|National AeroSpace Plane]] (ca. 1990 - 1993)