> NASA concerned Starship problems will delay Artemis 3
I feel like this could either go surprisingly quickly, if they manage to rebuild the pad and it actually works, and there’s no FAA/environmental issues, or, it could have issues as suggested above. Definitely later than the initial plan but that’s … mostly standard with rocket development
@fyrepenguin - "NASA concerned" - in the unlikely case that Republicans take power in 2024, they could start a corruption investigation against NASA. Missteps with SLS development and third party contracts are unique in their scope, even for NASA.
@TheMatrixEquation-balance I mean, they have the House right now so idk if there’s anything stopping them now. Regardless, this article is about Starship and HLS, rather than SLS …
@fyrepenguin - I am talking about this article. "NASA concerned" - there are too many launches SpaceX Starship has to complete. What kind of concern is that? It does not make much technical sense.
@TheMatrixEquation-balance well, for a 2025 landing, they have 30 months for (1) successfully demonstrating launch + landing of Starship, (2) successfully modifying for a Starship tanker variant, (3) successfully doing cryogenic propellant transfer in space, (4) successfully modifying Starship as the HLS variant, (5 - iIIRC) successfully landing a test article on the moon. Call it at least 10 successful launches of a new rocket system, or one every 3 months.
You don't see how someone might be concerned about that?
I think they'll probably be eventually successful, but wouldn't be at all surprised if the date slips as stated in the article
@fyrepenguin - "You don't see how someone might be concerned about that?" - I don't like the context of it. Who is crying the wolf? NASA, who is always behind on their schedules. And this is while SpaceX builds Starship prototypes like sausages and breaks new ground for a large Starship assembly factory.
@fyrepenguin - "The House of Representatives regularly does investigations and oversight" - they did not have much luck investigating Trump. They don't have a punch of criminal investigation (billions of dollars improperly paid for several RS-25 engines refurbishment).
