Replies

At this point, I would contend that SpaceX IS the U.S. space program.

NASA contracted with SpaceX to build the Dragon spacecraft (both versions), and the project currently known as Starship BECAUSE they saw a need for competition. Starship is the future for NASA Moon missions. SpaceX has delivered big time; Boeing has not. Starliner is Boeing's problem. The disaster that is SLS, however, can be laid directly at the feet of Congress which insisted on re-using Space Shuttle technology. To be fair: SLS has orbited the Moon. Starship has achieved exactly one highly eccentric Earth orbit.

Starship is not the future on Moon mission if the US wants to get a manned mission there before the Chinese. Starship v2 is far behind where it should be because of all the Biden shenanigans.

Right now, it would take 6 Starship refuelings just to get to the moon and orbit. The lunar orbiter is still in the design stage, and is too big to fit in Starship fairing. So that would be multiple trips with multiple refuelings just to get that assembled.

Why do they need it? Because there is no provision to put a fueling station on the moon. In fact there is no provision to refuel the Starship in any case.

Worse, the Starship and its booster both would have to be man-rated - that’s months/years of testing all successfully.

But all of that aside, StarShip has to do many test refuelings to prove the concept. More months/years of testing all successfully.

Plus there is no Starship crew escape on landing - more months/years of testing all successfully.

Its unlikely, as things stand now, that the US will get a man on the moon until well after the Chinese set up their stations on the surface.

The only way to get there quickly is to get Artemis up and running - its a straight shot with no refuelings. It can take the Lunar Orbiter and the crew in one shot.

Why is that? Because StarShip is very heavy - its stainless steel after all. Artemis is light weight composite and so can lift more weight and ‘throw’ it farther.