SpaceX has laid out plans for its Starship program, including how it plans to support NASA’s Artemis missions and enable a permanent human presence on the moon and beyond.
The lengthy statement, shared on its website on Thursday, is effectively a response to NASA chief Sean Duffy’s recent announcement about his plan to reopen bids for the crewed Artemis III mission to the moon, for which SpaceX was awarded the lander contract in 2021.
Duffy said he arrived at his decision because SpaceX was taking too long to develop its Starship rocket, with its upper stage, known as the Ship, currently in line to return astronauts to the moon in Artemis III, set for 2027 at the earliest.
But in its latest update, SpaceX insists that the Starship will be “a central enabler that will fulfill the vision of NASA’s Artemis program,” and will “ultimately forge the path to land the first humans on Mars.” In an apparent effort to retain its contract, SpaceX said it has recently proposed a “simplified” plan for the Artemis III mission, though it has yet to share details publicly.
With SpaceX now facing renewed competition from the likes of Blue Origin to provide the Artemis III lunar lander, the Elon Musk-led spaceflight company says it’s “moving at a historically rapid pace,” regarding the Starship’s development, while also highlighting how the lande’s capability to transport up to 100 metric tons directly to the lunar surface, including large payloads such as rovers, nuclear reactors, and lunar habitats.
It said that to return astronauts to the moon, it’s currently following two paths: 1 — development of the first-stage Starship rocket system, which SpaceX is mostly self-funding, and 2 — development of the upper-stage Ship lander, funded by NASA but for which SpaceX is only paid after the successful completion of progress milestones, so that “American taxpayers are not on the hook for increased SpaceX costs.”
The company goes on to describe the huge amount of infrastructure that it’s been building for the Starship, including launch sites in Texas and now on the Space Coast in Florida, as well engine development and manufacturing facilities.
Looking ahead, SpaceX acknowledged that it has a number of challenges to overcome before the Ship is ready for the Artemis III mission. While the Starship has undertaken 11 test flights to date, the Ship has yet to achieve its first orbital flight, and also has to demonstrate in-space propellant transfer. It added that the speed at which the project moves forward will depend on the success of upcoming flight tests with the new, third version of the Starship. The first of these flights is expected to take place early next year.
“I love Space, it’s an amazing company,” Duffy said when he announced the reopening of bids for the lander. “The problem is, they’re behind. They’ve pushed their timelines out, and we’re in a race against China.”
SpaceX is desperate to reassure the NASA chief that it’s on the right path regarding Starship, with next year set to be a make-or-break one regarding its involvement with the Artemis III mission.
