SoylentNews

upstart [soylentnews.org] writes:

████ # This file was generated bot-o-matically! Edit at your own risk. ████

for jan

China likely to land on Moon before US does again [theregister.com]:

A former NASA administrator has told the US Senate Commerce Committee that it is "highly unlikely" the US will return humans to the Moon before a Chinese taikonaut plants a flag on the lunar surface.

The problem, according to Jim Bridenstine [youtube.com], is the architecture NASA selected to return to the Moon, and in particular the choice of SpaceX's Starship to land humans on the regolith.

Bridenstine waved away the issues with NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) – the massive rocket intended to launch humans to the Moon – noting that "it has been expensive, it had overruns, but it's behind us."

Of the Orion capsule, which will be used to transport the crew from Earth and back again, Bridenstine said: "The Orion crew capsule is not only usable today, but ultimately the cost is going down because more and more of it is reusable every time we use the Orion crew capsule. Those two elements are in good shape."

What isn't in good shape is the architecture, including the choice of SpaceX's Starship. The former administrator listed the issues. First, there was the task of getting the Human Landing System (HLS) variant of Starship to the Moon, which would require an unknown number of launches from Earth to refuel it. "By the way," said Bridenstine, "that whole in-space refueling thing has never been tested either."

Then there is human-rating the HLS variant, a process that Bridenstine noted "hasn't even started yet." He continued, noting more issues with NASA's lunar architecture. How long could the HLS variant of Starship loiter in orbit around the Moon before the crew arrived? Was putting a crew on the surface of the Moon with no means of returning to the Orion spacecraft for seven days acceptable?

"The biggest decision in the history of NASA – at least since I've been paying attention – happened in the absence of a NASA administrator, and that decision was instead of buying a moonlander, we're going to buy a big rocket."

• Space Command gets Trumped out of Colorado, voting conspiracy cited [theregister.com]
• White House nixes NASA unions amid budget uncertainty [theregister.com]
• Unlike most of Musk's other ventures, Starship keeps it together for Flight Test 10 [theregister.com]
• Two scrubs, one Starship: Third time lucky for SpaceX? [theregister.com]

Biggest decision? Maybe. Maybe not. Sending Apollo 8 around the Moon on the first crewed launch of a Saturn V would have to be up there, but Bridenstine's passion is undeniable.

"This is an architecture that no NASA administrator that I'm aware of would have selected had they had the choice. But it was a decision that was made in the absence of a NASA administrator. It's a problem. It needs to be solved."

The decision was taken in 2021 [theregister.com]. As well as SpaceX, Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin threw its hat into the ring alongside US-based Dynetics. At the time, NASA believed that choosing a single partner would reduce costs. Blue Origin later sued NASA [theregister.com] over the contract award.

Neither SpaceX nor Blue Origin was present at the hearing. Bridenstine also did not offer a solution to the problem.

The Register contacted NASA and SpaceX to comment and will update this piece should either respond. ®

Get ourTech Resources [theregister.com]ShareMore about

• Blue Origin
• Moon
• NASA

More like these×More about

• Blue Origin
• Moon
• NASA
• SpaceX

Narrower topics

• Artemis
• Exomoon
• Hubble Space Telescope
• ISS
• James Webb Space Telescope
• Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory
• Perseverance
• Starlink
• Voyager

Broader topics

• Aerospace
• Elon Musk
• Federal government of the United States
• Jeff Bezos
• Space

More about ShareMore about

• Blue Origin
• Moon
• NASA

More like these×More about

• Blue Origin
• Moon
• NASA
• SpaceX

Narrower topics

• Artemis
• Exomoon
• Hubble Space Telescope
• ISS
• James Webb Space Telescope
• Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory
• Perseverance
• Starlink
• Voyager

Broader topics

• Aerospace
• Elon Musk
• Federal government of the United States
• Jeff Bezos
• Space

TIP US OFF

Send us news [theregister.com]

Original Submission