NASA lays out $28 billion plan to return astronauts to the moon in 2024:
NASA officials released a nearly five-year, $28 billion plan Monday to return astronauts to the surface of the moon before the end of 2024, but the agency's administrator said the "aggressive" timeline set by the Trump administration last year hinges on Congress approving $3.2 billion in the next few months to kick-start development of new human-rated lunar landers.
The plan unveiled Monday contained few new details not previously disclosed by NASA. It assumes crews will launch on NASA's Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket, fly to the moon's vicinity on an Orion capsule, then transfer into a commercially-developed lunar lander to ferry the astronauts to and from the lunar surface.
NASA released a new overview document [(pdf)] Monday describing the agency's approach to landing astronauts on the moon for the first time since the Apollo 17 mission in December 1972. The program, named Artemis, encompasses the SLS, Orion, Human Landing Systems, and the Gateway, a human-tended platform in lunar orbit that will eventually serve as a staging point for missions to the moon.
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NASA wants to buy SLS rockets at half price, fly them into the 2050s
NASA has asked the US aerospace industry how it would go about "maximizing the long-term efficiency and sustainability" of the Space Launch System rocket and its associated ground systems.
[...] In its request NASA says it would like to fly the SLS rocket for "30 years or more" as a national capability. Moreover, the agency wants the rocket to become a "sustainable and affordable system for moving humans and large cargo payloads to cislunar and deep-space destinations."
[...] Among the rocket's chief architects was then-Florida Senator Bill Nelson, who steered billions of dollars to Kennedy Space Center in his home state for upgraded ground systems equipment to support the rocket. Back in 2011, he proudly said the rocket would be delivered on time and on budget.
"This rocket is coming in at the cost of... not only what we estimated in the NASA Authorization act, but less," Nelson said at the time. "The cost of the rocket over a five- to six-year period in the NASA authorization bill was to be no more than $11.5 billion. This costs $10 billion for the rocket." Later, he went further, saying, "If we can't do a rocket for $11.5 billion, we ought to close up shop."
After more than 10 years, and more than $30 billion spent on the rocket and its ground systems, NASA has not closed up shop. Rather, Nelson has ascended to become the space agency's administrator.
Previously:
Artemis Program Requires More Cash to Reach Moon by 2024; SLS Could Cost 1,000x More Than Starship
NASA OIG: Tell Congress that Moon Rocket is Over Budget and Behind Schedule
NASA Spent a Decade and Nearly $1 Billion for a Single Launch Tower
NASA Will Pay a Staggering $146 Million for Each SLS Rocket Engine
Charlie Bolden Says the Quiet Part Out Loud: SLS Rocket Will Go Away
NASA Lays out $28 Billion Plan to Return Astronauts to the Moon in 2024
NASA SLS Megarocket Shortage Causes Tug-of-war Between Moon Missions, Europa Exploration
SLS: Nasa 'Megarocket' Assembly Begins in Florida
NASA's Europa Clipper has been Liberated from the Space Launch System
After a Decade, NASA's Big Rocket Fails its First Real Test
NASA's Massive Artemis Moon Rocket Set for Second Hot Fire Test Today 1500 EDT (1900 UTC)
NASA Has Begun a Study of the SLS Rocket's Affordability [Updated]
COVID-19 Pandemic Estimated to Cost NASA $3 Billion
(Score: 2, Redundant) by Mojibake Tengu on Thursday September 24 2020, @09:34AM (1 child)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_program#Costs [wikipedia.org]
🤦♂️
Respect Authorities. Know your social status. Woke responsibly.
(Score: 4, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @10:00AM
https://www.planetary.org/space-policy/cost-of-apollo [planetary.org]
(Score: 0, Troll) by Username on Thursday September 24 2020, @01:12PM (2 children)
What is the mission that requires landing on the moon? To give Trump a going away present?
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Thursday September 24 2020, @01:22PM
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/artemis_plan-20200921.pdf [nasa.gov]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 4, Interesting) by DannyB on Thursday September 24 2020, @03:45PM
The mission that requires a moon landing is to claim and hold territory on the moon. Especially the highest priced real estate.
That conjecture wood also explain the recent NASA competition to collect lunar samples, but not have to return them to Earth. Simply deliver them to NASA on the moon. (which strengthens the territorial claim)
People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday September 24 2020, @03:40PM (4 children)
Wouldn't building a Moon base with robots controlled via telepresence be cheaper, faster, easier, and safer? There's a significant delay to signals that travel to Mars and back, but the Moon is close.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday September 24 2020, @03:46PM
Humans on the moon strengthens the territorial claim.
People today are educated enough to repeat what they are taught but not to question what they are taught.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Thursday September 24 2020, @05:25PM
Probably, but as programs drag on their cost integrates over time and can balloon dramatically.
Initially, to land the first robot? Yes. To build a high capacity base which supports mining, manufacturing, assembly, fuel processing and launch capabilities? No. Boots on the ground will be able to overcome challenges faster than the development cycles required to address them as they are identified. There's a healthy quantity of unknown unknowns remaining in moon based operations. Even when most operations have been established and automated, people to install and maintain the robots will be faster to develop and deploy than robots. People have a high overhead, but not as high as complex robot systems development teams.
Of course, unless delay / abandonment of the program is a risk we are including in the definition of "safe/unsafe" evaluation.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 3, Informative) by takyon on Thursday September 24 2020, @05:26PM
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_program#Artemis_Base_Camp [wikipedia.org]
They haven't finalized the plans, but it sounds like the initial habitat will be a payload that would be fully built on Earth, and delivered to the surface of the Moon. No lava tubes [wikipedia.org] or lunar concrete [wikipedia.org].
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @10:24PM
Robots are boring, and Musk wouldn't like it anyway.
Plus, don't forget the egos involved.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 24 2020, @03:50PM
You used to be the counter example: the government can do things efficiently and competently, look at NASA
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday September 24 2020, @09:59PM
(Score: 2) by jasassin on Friday September 25 2020, @05:46AM
What a waste of time and money.
That money could help with the homeless and indigent.
jasassin@gmail.com GPG Key ID: 0xE6462C68A9A3DB5A