Submission + - Nasa's SLS Moon Rocket Leaves For Testing (bbc.com)
Excelcia writes: The first core stage for the Space Launch System, intended to get us back to the moon by 2024, has just left Boeing's manufacturing center in New Orleans for launch readiness tests. This is very good news for the troubled project which has been plagued by delays and cost overruns. Back when it was thought the system would launch in 2017, the cost estimate was $19-$22billion for the program. But now the race is on in earnest to see who can get super-heavy lift into orbit, and it looks like NASA is finally out of the starting gate. The next step is a full-power burn of the four Space Shuttle RS-25 engines.