NASA selects SpaceX’s Starship as the landing pad to take the astronauts to the moon

Amazing selection: Last year, NASA awarded three group contracts to further develop its own proposals for lunar landings: $ 135 million to SpaceX, $ 253 million to defense company Dynetics (with which it worked Sierra Nevada Corporation), and to a group of four companies headed for $ 579 million Blue Origin (Working with Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and Draper).

SpaceX not only received the smallest amount of money; the proposal also received the worst technical and management rating. Associate Administrator at NASA (now Acting Administrator) Written by Steve Jurczyk (pdf) Starship’s propulsion system was “very complex and consisted of complex subsystems with a very low margin margin that have yet to be developed, tested, and certified to accommodate delays.” Doubts escalated as a result of SpaceX’s poor historical trajectory, along with meeting deadlines.

What changed: Since then, SpaceX has conducted several flight tests of full-scale Starship prototypes. including a 10-mile flight and a safe landing in March. (It also exploded several times.) According to the Washington Post, documents say NASA was in love with Starship’s ability to carry a lot of cargo to the moon (up to 100 tons), not to mention a $ 2.9 billion bid for the contract. he was much lower than his opponents’.

“This innovative human landing system will be distinctive in the history of spaceflight,” says Lisa Watson-Morgan, NASA’s moon system management program manager. “We’re confident in NASA’s partnership with SpaceX.”

What does this mean: For SpaceX’s rivals, it’s a severe blow, especially for Blue Origin. The company, founded by Jeff Bezos, introduced the Blue Moon lander concept in 2019 and has publicly campaigned for NASA’s election for future lunar missions. The Blue Moon was arguably the most developed of the three proposals when NASA gave its first round of contracts.

For SpaceX, Starship’s trust is a big vote, as a key technology for next-generation exploration technology. It takes less than a year after receiving the company’s Crew Dragon vehicle certificate The only American spacecraft capable of carrying NASA astronauts into space. And it seems to confirm that SpaceX is NASA’s largest private partner, replacing veteran companies like Northrop Grumman and sidelining newer ones like Blue Origin. However, there is at least one major hurdle: Starship has to launch using a Super Heavy rocket, a design that SpaceX has not yet flown.

For NASA, the biggest conclusion is that SpaceX’s vehicles will continue to play a greater role in Artemis, as the lunar exploration program is considered to be Apollo’s successor. NASA directive from former President Donald Trump The return of astronauts to the moon by 2024 would never materialize, but choosing the only concept of human landing NASA may not lose much of that period. The first Artemis missions will use Orion the long-delayed Space Launch System rocket is expected to be ready soon.