Apr 30, 2023 02:42 AM
https://gizmodo.com/nasa-chief-confident...1850386939
EXCERPT: NASA Administrator Bill Nelson downplayed concerns regarding Starship’s ability to deliver astronauts to the surface of the Moon in two years in light of the SpaceX launch vehicle exploding minutes into its first test flight.
During his testimony before the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee regarding NASA’s 2024 budget request, Nelson said that Starship’s explosion was “not a big downer in the way that SpaceX does things,” SpacePolicyOnline reported. “They are hardware rich meaning they’ve got a lot of those rockets ready to go,” he continued. “They launch. If something goes wrong, they figure out what it is, they go back and they launch it again.”
[...] Despite its untimely explosion, Nelson reiterated SpaceX’s timeline of repairing Starship’s launchpad and preparing another Starship vehicle for flight in at least two months. The ambitious timeline may not be entirely up to Elon Musk’s private space venture, however, since the Federal Aviation Administration has grounded Starship pending an ongoing investigation into its blowup.
[...] U.S. lawmakers really don’t want NASA, and by extension SpaceX, to fall behind on its timeline to land on the Moon, fearing that China may take the lead instead.... At the same time, the House is anticipating budget cuts that could possibly affect NASA’s Artemis timeline. ... NASA is already having a hard time managing its budget...
[...] The U.S. government will likely prioritize taking the lead in the new space race to the Moon over planetary missions. It needs to be said, however, that NASA’s commercial partnerships are sometimes beyond the control of lawmakers, and it’s now up to companies like SpaceX to get its megarocket off the ground once again... (MORE - missing details)
EXCERPT: NASA Administrator Bill Nelson downplayed concerns regarding Starship’s ability to deliver astronauts to the surface of the Moon in two years in light of the SpaceX launch vehicle exploding minutes into its first test flight.
During his testimony before the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee regarding NASA’s 2024 budget request, Nelson said that Starship’s explosion was “not a big downer in the way that SpaceX does things,” SpacePolicyOnline reported. “They are hardware rich meaning they’ve got a lot of those rockets ready to go,” he continued. “They launch. If something goes wrong, they figure out what it is, they go back and they launch it again.”
[...] Despite its untimely explosion, Nelson reiterated SpaceX’s timeline of repairing Starship’s launchpad and preparing another Starship vehicle for flight in at least two months. The ambitious timeline may not be entirely up to Elon Musk’s private space venture, however, since the Federal Aviation Administration has grounded Starship pending an ongoing investigation into its blowup.
[...] U.S. lawmakers really don’t want NASA, and by extension SpaceX, to fall behind on its timeline to land on the Moon, fearing that China may take the lead instead.... At the same time, the House is anticipating budget cuts that could possibly affect NASA’s Artemis timeline. ... NASA is already having a hard time managing its budget...
[...] The U.S. government will likely prioritize taking the lead in the new space race to the Moon over planetary missions. It needs to be said, however, that NASA’s commercial partnerships are sometimes beyond the control of lawmakers, and it’s now up to companies like SpaceX to get its megarocket off the ground once again... (MORE - missing details)