As Artemis Moves Forward, NASA Picks SpaceX to Land Next Americans on Moon

[Waspie_Dwarf]

As Artemis Moves Forward, NASA Picks SpaceX to Land Next Americans on Moon

Quote

NASA is getting ready to send astronauts to explore more of the Moon as part of the Artemis program, and the agency has selected SpaceX to continue development of the first commercial human lander that will safely carry the next two American astronauts to the lunar surface. At least one of those astronauts will make history as the first woman on the Moon. Another goal of the Artemis program includes landing the first person of color on the lunar surface.

The agency’s powerful Space Launch System rocket will launch four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft for their multi-day journey to lunar orbit. There, two crew members will transfer to the SpaceX human landing system (HLS) for the final leg of their journey to the surface of the Moon. After approximately a week exploring the surface, they will board the lander for their short trip back to orbit where they will return to Orion and their colleagues before heading back to Earth.

  Read More: NASA

 

[+razman]

Didn't these guys have a series of crashes recently ? What could go wrong?

[DreadLordAvatar]

What a waste of tax payers money. Imagine how much good can be done on this planet with that amount of funding resources.  

[Bavarian Raven]

3 hours ago, DreadLordAvatar said:

What a waste of tax payers money. Imagine how much good can be done on this planet with that amount of funding resources.  

><

[Poncho_Peanatus]

5 hours ago, DreadLordAvatar said:

What a waste of tax payers money. Imagine how much good can be done on this planet with that amount of funding resources.  

not much good actually, if you want to solve something, space is the way to go.

[Poncho_Peanatus]

IMO as I said on other forums, Nasa knows very well that SpaceX is damn serious about going to deep space, and they are not playing any games, they move faster than anybody else ever did in space history at a fraction of the cost. By the time NASA is ready they would already have gone to moon and mars and perhaps on the way to overtake the galaxy. The best way to keep a impression even just esthetic of control is to join them otherwise the first USA astronaut on the moon will be greeted by space tourists in the new moon hotel/casino. 

[+Hammerclaw]

I just hope they work out that little landing problem they're having. 

[Waspie_Dwarf]

On 4/17/2021 at 2:57 PM, razman said:

Didn't these guys have a series of crashes recently ? What could go wrong?

Yes, but with a major caveat.

The Starship vehicles that SpaceX are currently flying are pure prototypes. SpaceX, unlike NASA, do not attempt to get it right first time. They use are series of iterations, finding out what fails and then improving it on the next flight. They did not expect the early flights to end in anything other than crashes. In fact, with the exception of the last flight, all had done better than expected. The last flight was not considered a success because it didn't get near to a landing. Due to a fire on one of the engines the vehicle exploded when it tried to re-light its engines,

 

On 4/18/2021 at 8:30 AM, Hammerclaw said:

I just hope they work out that little landing problem they're having. 

The landing problem they are having is not relevant to the Lunar Starship (officially known by NASA as the Starship Human Landing System).

Starship is designed to land on the Earth and Mars. It is, however, far too large to use parachutes to slow it down. Instead it performs a "belly-flop" manoeuvre, falling belly first to use its own shape to slow it down. In the final stages of landing it relights its engines, flips itself base first and makes a powered landing. As there is no atmosphere on the moon, this manoeuvre is pointless. Instead the Starship HLS will have high powered thrusters in its mid-body, which it will use to land,

[Still Waters]

Related:

Blue Origin protests NASA choice of SpaceX to land astronauts on Moon

Blue Origin, the US space company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, on Monday filed a protest against NASA's choice of rival SpaceX to build the module that will land the next US astronauts on the Moon.

"NASA has executed a flawed acquisition for the Human Landing System program and moved the goalposts at the last minute," Blue Origin said in a statement sent to AFP.

The decision "eliminates opportunities for competition, significantly narrows the supply base, and not only delays, but also endangers America's return to the Moon" by 2024 as the US space agency plans, the private space company said.

"Because of that, we've filed a protest with the GAO," or Government Accountability Office, which audits services for Congress.

https://phys.org/news/2021-04-blue-protests-nasa-choice-spacex.html

[TheSpaceResident]

NASA certainly knows how to make the right choice. SpaceX is the best company to work on the Artemis program on an equal basis with NASA because these guys always keep their promises. I don't understand why so many people worry about the crashes; it's a normal result of testing the spacecraft. 

[Poncho_Peanatus]

18 hours ago, TheSpaceResident said:

NASA certainly knows how to make the right choice. SpaceX is the best company to work on the Artemis program on an equal basis with NASA because these guys always keep their promises. I don't understand why so many people worry about the crashes; it's a normal result of testing the spacecraft. 

true beside that, there is no atmosphere on the moon, so the bellyflop is not needed. 

 

[Waspie_Dwarf]

On 5/13/2021 at 11:57 AM, TheSpaceResident said:

SpaceX is the best company to work on the Artemis program on an equal basis with NASA because these guys always keep their promises.

A few points:

Firstly SpaceX are not on an equal basis with NASA, they are a supplieriof services in the same way that any other company that wins a NASA contract are. They are no more an equal than the Blue Origin/National Team or Dynetics would have been if they had won the HLS contract. 

Secondly this contract is only for the first two lunar landing missions. NASA may yet pick one, or both, of SpaceX's rivals for later missions. 

Lastly it is simply untrue to say that SpaceX always keep their promises. There is a whole list of things that SpaceX have either failed to deliver or have delivered late. A few examples:

Propulsive landing of the Crew Dragon. The Crew Dragon was supposed to do away with parachutes and a splash landing and use rockets to return to dry land. This was abandoned because SpaceX didn't think they could pass NASA's safety requirements. 

Red Dragon. This was a plan to land a modified Dragon 2 on Mars. Abandoned because of the problems with propulsive landing.

Reusable upper stage for Falcon 9. Abandoned. 

A crew capable version of the Falcon Heavy. Abandoned. 

A mission to send astronauts around the moon using Crew Dragon and Falcon Heavy. Abandoned. 

Crew Dragon was supposed to be flying astronauts to the ISS by the end of 2017. It didn't achieve this until May 2020.

Elon Musk claimed that SpaceX would land a Falcon 9 and reply it within 24 hours. The best they have achieved so far is 27 days.

 

I don't want to come across as a hater, I'm not, I admire what they have achieved, but I am a realist. SpaceX are achieving amazing things, and if Starship is successful they will change access to space forever, but there is a tendency for them to be looked at through rose-tinted glasses. The successes are praised and the failures quietly forgotten. A great example of this is if you look at the articles about the problems that Boeing are having with the CST-100 Starliner. A lot of these articles are written by SpaceX fan boys who try to imply that Boeing are unfit for purpose and only SpaceX is capable of flying astronauts. Whilst it is true that Boeing are having to refly their uncrewed test mission because of software issues, these articles forget to mention that the capsule that fly the first Crew Dragon mission exploded after the flight when SpaceX tested the abort system. 

The same vitriol is often thrown Blue Origin's way.

[+Desertrat56]

On 4/27/2021 at 8:15 AM, Still Waters said:

Related:

Blue Origin protests NASA choice of SpaceX to land astronauts on Moon

Blue Origin, the US space company founded by billionaire Jeff Bezos, on Monday filed a protest against NASA's choice of rival SpaceX to build the module that will land the next US astronauts on the Moon.

"NASA has executed a flawed acquisition for the Human Landing System program and moved the goalposts at the last minute," Blue Origin said in a statement sent to AFP.

The decision "eliminates opportunities for competition, significantly narrows the supply base, and not only delays, but also endangers America's return to the Moon" by 2024 as the US space agency plans, the private space company said.

"Because of that, we've filed a protest with the GAO," or Government Accountability Office, which audits services for Congress.

https://phys.org/news/2021-04-blue-protests-nasa-choice-spacex.html

Oh Brother!  How long has Jeff B. wanted to go to space? 2015?   Space X has been around a lot longer and has proven itself better than the competition.  Get out the tiny Violin for Jeff.

[Waspie_Dwarf]

12 hours ago, Desertrat56 said:

Oh Brother!  How long has Jeff B. wanted to go to space? 2015?   Space X has been around a lot longer and has proven itself better than the competition.  Get out the tiny Violin for Jeff.

 

13 hours ago, Waspie_Dwarf said:

The same vitriol is often thrown Blue Origin's way.

I rest my case.

Protesting a government contract is pretty standard. SpaceX sued the USAF for awarding a contract to ULA. SpaceX won their case.

[+Desertrat56]

8 hours ago, Waspie_Dwarf said:

 

I rest my case.

Protesting a government contract is pretty standard. SpaceX sued the USAF for awarding a contract to ULA. SpaceX won their case.

Well, if Space X won their case there must have been proof of mishandling the quotes or payoff or something.

[Trelane]

On ‎5‎/‎15‎/‎2021 at 8:10 AM, Desertrat56 said:

Well, if Space X won their case there must have been proof of mishandling the quotes or payoff or something.

Or inappropriate procedure for contracting certification and awarding process.

[Poncho_Peanatus]