Update to my post on NASA’s lunar lander timelines. On Friday NASA laid out its Artemis plans in detail for the first time, Ars Technica reports, with a couple of real changes.
What’s new
- SpaceXSI’s Starship: it’ll be fueled in low Earth orbit and then dock with Orion in high Earth orbit. The crew rides to the Moon in Orion, and two of four astronauts move to Starship to land.
- Refueling count: NASA’s safety panel said “about 22” tanker launches. Musk says six to eight. NASA wouldn’t give a number, and Administrator Jared Isaacman called six to eight possible but the “ultimate potential end state.”
- Blue Origin: four New Glenn launches and no ship-to-ship refueling for early missions, with the option of meeting Orion in low lunar orbit.
- The Orion fix: NASA is working with United Launch Alliance on an “extended” Centaur V upper stage so Orion can reach low lunar orbit. Its weak service module never could. “Getting Orion to low-Lunar orbit means solving propulsion and spacecraft integration problems that were left unaddressed for far too long,” Isaacman said.
- Dates: Artemis III, a docking demo near Earth, is still targeted for “summer” 2027, and Artemis IV, the landing, for 2028.
My take
Getting Orion to low lunar orbit makes life easier for both lander teams and gives astronauts more ways home. That’s the most sensible change I’ve seen in this program in years. Whether 2027 and 2028 hold depends on that refueling number.
Have a blessed day! And Happy Hacking!
