As part of NASA’s plan to accelerate the Artemis timeline, the agency is considering scaling back the role of its legacy Moon rocket and opting to expand SpaceX’s part in landing astronauts on the lunar surface.
Under a new proposal, the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket would no longer be used to boost the Orion spacecraft to lunar orbit. Instead, Starship and Orion would dock in Earth orbit, and the SpaceX rocket would then be responsible for propelling the crew capsule to lunar orbit before transporting astronauts to the lunar surface, according to a Bloomberg report.
The original plan was to use SLS to boost Orion closer to the Moon and rendezvous with Starship in lunar orbit. Following several delays and cost overruns, NASA may be looking to diminish the role of SLS to speed things along for its Artemis Moon program. At the same time, the agency is doubling down on its reliance on commercial partner SpaceX to deliver astronauts to the lunar surface.
Accelerated timeline
NASA’s recently appointed leadership is looking to speed things up for the agency’s Moon program. In late February, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced a major revamp of Artemis, squeezing in an additional flight in 2027, under Artemis 3, as a test flight of the commercial lunar landers in Earth orbit.
The 5.75-million-pound SLS rocket, designed and developed by Boeing, is essential to NASA’s Moon program. But ongoing issues have plagued the rocket since launch preparations for Artemis 1 in 2022 and have forced the agency to delay the crewed Artemis 2 mission.
Under a $3.2 billion contract, Boeing was tasked with producing the SLS core and upper stages for Artemis 3 through 6 and Exploration Upper Stages (EUS) for Artemis 5 and 6. Earlier this month, the agency said it would no longer use Boeing’s EUS due to major developmental delays. NASA also called off planned upgrades to SLS, opting instead to standardize its Moon rocket in hopes of increasing its launch cadence.
Supporting role
The latest report is another major downgrade for SLS, reducing its role in NASA’s upcoming Moon landings. SLS is set to launch astronauts to lunar orbit in April for the Artemis 2 mission but may only be tasked with delivering the crewed Orion spacecraft to Earth orbit afterwards (sending astronauts to the Moon is a two-pronged process: getting the crew to Earth orbit and, following that, sending them on a trajectory toward the Moon).
SpaceX’s Starship will then have to step in, docking with Starship in Earth orbit and taking over from there. The company’s rocket is still under development, having completed 11 suborbital test flights but not yet reaching orbital altitudes.
SpaceX and Blue Origin are also tasked with developing landers to transport astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface of the Moon. A recent report by NASA’s office of inspector general highlights that Starship’s Human Landing System faces significant delays and is unlikely to be ready before the launch of the Artemis 3 mission in 2027.
Isaacman will meet with the companies working on Artemis and the Human Landing System (HLS) program to discuss their progress, according to Bloomberg.
As part of NASA’s new plan, Artemis 4, tentatively scheduled to launch in 2028, would represent the agency’s first attempt to land astronauts on the Moon in more than 50 years. NASA is also aiming for two lunar touchdowns within 10 months, accelerating the Artemis schedule to help establish a sustainable presence on the Moon.
Isaacman also recently revealed an ambitious plan to land missions on the Moon on a monthly basis in 2027 as part of the agency’s efforts to build a lunar base.
The new accelerated timeline comes with its challenges and requires NASA and its commercial partners to deliver on several unproven components of the Artemis missions.