NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has played down concerns about the spacecraft’s ability to deliver astronauts to the lunar surface within two years, in light of the SpaceX spacecraft’s explosion minutes after its first test flight.
During his testimony before the Science, Space, and Technology Council Committee on 2024 budget request from NASAThe Starship explosion “wasn’t much of a cause for the way SpaceX does things,” Nelson said. SpacePolicyOnline mentioned. He continued, “It is rich in equipment, which means it has a lot of these missiles ready to launch.” “They fire. If something goes wrong, they figure out what it is, go back and fire it again.”
SpaceX The massive spacecraft finally took off on April 20 for a less-than-ideal orbital test flight. About four minutes after the rocket launched from Boca Chica, Texas, Starship exploded in the sky over the Gulf of Mexico. Some of the rocket’s engines failed in flight, and after falling into a catastrophic avalanche, the two-stage heavy-lift launch vehicle was forced to self-destruct. It wasn’t a complete failure, however, as testing showed that the spacecraft could take off from Earth and withstand extreme aerodynamic stresses. The test also generated critical feedback for SpaceX to apply to the next Starship improvements.
Despite its sudden outburst, Nelson repeated SpaceX’s schedule to repair the spacecraft’s launch pad and prepare another vehicle for the aircraft in at least two months’ time. The ambitious timeline may not be quite as tied to Elon Musk’s private space project, since The FAA grounded the spacecraft Pending an ongoing investigation into her bombing.
The reason NASA invested in the Starship’s ability to fly is because SpaceX is below par Contract valued at $2.89 billion to use megarocket in Landing humans on the moon by the end of 2025 As part of the space agency’s Artemis 3 mission, and subsequently Back to Artemis 4 In the year 2028, under A.J Separate contract worth $1.15 billion signed last year.
US lawmakers really do not want NASA, and by SpaceX extension, to fall behind the moon landing schedule, fearing that China might take the lead instead. China recently announced that it is planning to The landing of astronauts on the moon in 2030. “I want to make it clear that I will do everything in my power to ensure that the next astronauts on the moon are Americans.” House Rep. Frank Lucas said during the hearing Thursday, according to SpacePolicyOnline.
At the same time, the House of Representatives anticipates budget cuts that could affect NASA’s Artemis schedule. This week, the House of Representatives passed legislation for deficit reduction measures Aim to reduce discretionary spending. If the bill goes into effect, it will likely put strains on NASA’s budget. “It would be a disaster. In response to possible budget cuts,” Nelson said, according to Nelson Space news.
NASA is already having a hard time managing its budget, as the space agency has allocated most of its funding to the Artemis program and Mars sample return mission. The Mars mission, scheduled for launch in 2028, received $822.3 million in the 2023 spending bill, and NASA has requested another $949.3 million out of a total of $8.26 billion in science spending in Proposed budget for 2024. Other missions have suffered precisely as a result of budgetary concerns NASA’s Veritas mission to Venus.
The US government is likely to prioritize taking the lead in the new space race to the moon over planetary missions. However, it must be said that NASA’s business partnerships are sometimes beyond the control of lawmakers, and now it’s up to companies like SpaceX to launch their giant rocket again. As to whether the company owned by Elon Musk can deliver the Starship on time, well, let’s just say we’re having a hard time getting this explosion out of our heads.
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(tags to translation) SPACEX