NASA has confirmed it has received and is considering accelerated moon mission plans from SpaceX and Blue Origin in an effort to outpace China’s moon ambitions. The space agency has established a committee of subject matter experts to determine the best path to winning the second lunar race.
The space agency has now indicated that the moon landing schedule could be moved up to within President Donald Trump’s term, ideally by 2028. The confirmation came days after NASA Acting Administrator Sean Duffy criticized SpaceX for repeated delays and explosions during tests of the Starship lunar lander. He also threatened to award $4 billion in contracts to American companies such as Blue Origin.
Recent Cryppolitan reported NASA says it doubts SpaceX will be able to complete the moon mission within the scheduled deadline. The Artemis II mission, which aims to test astronauts around the moon, is scheduled for next year, underscoring NASA’s urgency.
SpaceX says it is working on a simplified mission architecture
In a lengthy blog post published Oct. 30, SpaceX revealed that its engineers are working on a simplified mission architecture to fulfill its crucial role in landing humans on the moon for more than half a century. Elon Musk’s aerospace and defense contractor said it was sharing and formally evaluating a concept for an operation that would bring humans back to the moon faster and safer.
The latest design features direct on-orbit refueling, more than 1,000 cubic meters of habitable space, and a payload capacity of up to 100 tons. More than just footprints or flags, SpaceX aims to establish a permanent human presence on the surface of the moon and eventually pave the way to Mars.
Meanwhile, Duffy has previously complained that SpaceX is behind the U.S. schedule for returning to the moon with Artemis, adding that SpaceX won’t wait for one company to catch up. He stressed that NASA will continue to move forward and win the second space race with China, and Blue Origin is likely to take over.
“They’re pushing the schedule forward and we’re competing with China…The president and I want to go to the moon during this president’s term, so we’re going to start signing deals.”
–Sean DuffyNASA’s Acting Administrator
But Mr Musk dismissed Mr Duffy’s criticism, insisting that it was impossible for the head of America’s space program to have a double-digit IQ. He also responded to NASA executives, claiming that Blue Origin has never carried a useful payload into orbit, let alone the moon.
Shotwell says he can’t wait to go to the moon
Gwynne Shotwell, President and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of SpaceX, said: said Early today she said she can’t wait to go to the moon. Her remarks came as her company claimed to have made full use of real-world testing throughout Starship’s development process to demonstrate capabilities, identify areas for improvement and prove solutions.
SpaceX revealed that it self-financed up to 90% of the system cost and development for Starship, which is dedicated to HLS. The company also revealed that it operates under a fixed-price contract with NASA, guaranteeing that it will only be paid based on milestones achieved.
up to now, space x manufactures approximately 600 Raptor rocket engines with operating times of over 226,000 seconds for the Raptor 2 engine and over 40,000 seconds for the Raptor 3 engine. It also produces over 30 starships.
The aerospace and defense contractor claims 11 Starship-only flight tests and 11 Super Heavy and Starship production flight tests have been conducted. The company has built and continues to build new Starship launch, production, integration and test facilities in Texas, Florida and California.
Billions of dollars in private investment are building more than 5 million square feet of manufacturing and integration space, multiple Raptor test stands, and five launch pads across Florida and Texas. SpaceX says everything will be designed to increase the pace of Starship’s launches beyond what was achieved with the Falcon program.
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