Enlarge / An artist’s conception of an SLS launch. (credit: NASA)

Earlier this month, NASA disclosed that the White House asked the agency to consider flying astronauts on the maiden launch of the massive Space Launch System rocket, known as Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), instead of using it as a test flight. On Friday, senior managers at the agency told reporters during a teleconference that they were “encouraged” by the opportunity to study this possibility, but they were also carefully weighing the risks against the rewards.

“We recognize this will be an increased risk,” said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator of NASA’s Human Explorations and Operations Mission Directorate. “We take that increased risk, and we take it against the benefits we gain by doing this, and we say, ‘Is that something that is worthwhile for us to go and do?’ Then we have an agency-wide discussion on whether this is an appropriate risk for us to take.”

The study should be complete in about a month, Gerstenmaier said. During the call, he and NASA’s lead manager for the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, Bill Hill, provided some additional information about the mission. It will fly just two astronauts, instead of four or six, on an eight- or nine-day mission into lunar orbit and back. The flight plan will also include multiple opportunities to return to Earth earlier if some unexpected problem occurs.