NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return astronauts to the Moon, is facing delays also related to the development of SpaceX’s Starship, the vehicle chosen as the lunar lander.
On Tuesday, the Inspector General of the U.S. space agency published a new report examining NASA’s management of the Human Landing System (HLS) development contracts signed both with Elon Musk’s SpaceX in 2021 and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin in 2023. The lunar landers will allow the future crew to descend to the lunar surface, live and work there temporarily, and ascend back to lunar orbit.
According to NASA’s Inspector General, SpaceX’s project has accumulated at least two years of delays compared to initial plans. Furthermore, it still has to overcome significant technical hurdles before it can perform a crewed lunar landing. Despite the difficulties, NASA maintains 2028 as the target for the mission that will bring astronauts to the lunar surface via the Starship lander.
The concerns come after NASA postponed the return of astronauts to the Moon at the end of February: the Artemis III mission will no longer perform a lunar landing in 2027 but will be a demonstration mission in low Earth orbit. The first lunar landing is now expected with Artemis IV in 2028. The decision, announced by Administrator Jared Isaacman, follows technical issues encountered during Artemis II mission tests and also includes a higher launch frequency and a more standardized SLS rocket configuration to reduce risks.
As Reuters points out, the American lunar program is also under pressure for geopolitical reasons: Washington aims to complete the missions before Beijing manages to send a Chinese crew to the Moon, a goal expected around 2030.
All the details.
THE NASA INSPECTOR GENERAL’S REPORT
The new report from the Office of Inspector General credits NASA for its contractual approach but raises concerns about critical elements that could compromise crew safety. Among these are the failure to adhere to the “test like you fly” principles – that is, testing systems as close as possible to the actual configuration in which they will fly – for uncrewed demonstration flights and the failure to ensure that SpaceX’s Starship meets manual control requirements.
While the report analyzes both HLS projects, it focuses more on Starship HLS. At the time of writing, it was the vehicle planned for the first two lunar landings, while Blue Origin’s Blue Moon MK2 was planned for the third. Among the main concerns is the risk that the impact of Starship HLS’s landing, with a height of 53 meters – equivalent to a 14-story building – on the rugged terrain of the lunar South Pole could cause it to tip over. Blue Moon MK2 is only 16 meters tall in comparison, or 7 meters for the Apollo lunar landers, notes Spacepolicyonline.
THE ELEVATOR TO DESCEND FROM THE LANDER
Additionally, in SpaceX’s lander, the crew cabin is located at the top, and astronauts must take an elevator to descend 35 meters to the surface. “Currently, there is no other method to allow the crew to enter the vehicle from the lunar surface in case of elevator failure.” SpaceX is focusing on building a robust system, but NASA’s HLS program is monitoring it as a “high risk.”
THE ISSUE OF MANUAL CONTROL
Furthermore, NASA requires that crewed vehicles include the option of manual control, not just autonomous control, during all phases of flight. But the agency and Musk’s company disagree on whether SpaceX is meeting this requirement, and “NASA’s monitoring of SpaceX’s manual control risk indicates a worsening trend.”
The report notes that the agency granted SpaceX a waiver for manual control for Crew Dragon vehicles transporting crews to the International Space Station. However, NASA had years of experience with the cargo version of Dragon before crewed flights began. This will not be the case for Starship HLS. Regarding Blue Origin, no “key decisions” on manual control have yet been made.
THE POSTPONED LANDING TARGET
According to statements made Tuesday by NASA’s Inspector General, more time will likely be needed to overcome the remaining technical obstacles before Starship can land on the Moon.
Delays in Starship’s development have progressively pushed back the expected date for the first crewed lunar landing. Originally, the program indicated 2024 as a possible target, but even then U.S. agency officials viewed that deadline with skepticism.
In 2021, NASA selected SpaceX’s mega rocket as the first lander of the Artemis program tasked with transporting astronauts to the lunar surface. However, the path to obtaining the certification necessary for human transport still involves several complex technical phases. Since 2023, SpaceX has launched the Starship system eleven times as part of a series of test flights closely monitored by NASA, Reuters recalls. The tests are part of the vehicle development process intended to serve as the lander in the Artemis program.
REFUELING IN SPACE
Among these, one of the most challenging involves the need to refuel the vehicle in space before continuing the journey to the Moon.
According to the Inspector General’s report, orbital refueling represents one of the main difficulties for both SpaceX and Blue Origin. To enable a Starship to transport astronauts to the Moon, SpaceX will have to launch more than eleven other Starships into Earth orbit that will serve as refueling tanks. One of these will be used as a propellant depot and must be filled with the contribution of more than ten vehicles.
The Starship destined for the lunar landing will then receive the necessary fuel from this orbital depot before undertaking the journey to the Moon.
NASA’S CONCERNS
The document states that NASA officials overseeing the development of SpaceX’s Starship “consider the demonstration of cryogenic propellant transfer one of the most significant technical challenges SpaceX faces.”
The report adds that “NASA is monitoring a high risk: some of the cryogenic technologies and capabilities SpaceX is developing will not be sufficiently mature” in view of the landing planned for 2028.
Finally, the Inspector General notes that, in the Artemis program, the probability of crew loss is estimated between one in 30 and one in 40. For comparison, in the Apollo program, the risk was about one in 10, while in missions conducted with the Space Shuttle it was significantly lower, about one in 70.
