Trump’s $6 Billion NASA Funding Cut Jeopardizes Race To Moon Against China

Pinching pennies and landing a crew of astronauts on the Moon before a geopolitical rivalry aren't two endeavors that go hand-in-hand. The Trump administration released NASA's proposed 2026 discretionary budget last week. The federal space agency would see a $6 billion cut if implemented as written, roughly a 24% decrease compared to 2025. However, the White House is confusingly still committed to beating China to the lunar surface despite shuttering all the projects working towards that goal.

The proposed 2026 budget has a 10% increase for human space exploration, but the $7 billion allocated won't be used for the significant pieces of technology developed for the Artemis program. The Space Launch System rocket and the accompanying Orion capsule spacecraft have been cancelled. Gateway, the space station slated to be built in lunar orbit, has also been cancelled. Frustratingly, the first Gateway module has already been built in Italy and arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida last month.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images With the current projects canned and a human spaceflight budget increase, the Trump administration is seemingly setting the stage to award a massive contract to a private space company. The contractor would have to develop a commercial platform to deliver NASA's Artemis astronauts to the Moon. Not to mention, the contractor is expected to beat China. The Chinese program's plans to land two taikonauts on the lunar surface by 2030, three years after the Artemis III landing, seemed conservative. Now, the emerging East Asian space power could pass the United States in this new space race.

It's no secret that Elon Musk's SpaceX would be the favorite to win the contract. It's also no secret that the government-gutting CEO detests the effort to return to the Moon and the Artemis program. As always, Musk claimed he could do it faster and cheaper. Let's ignore that delays with Starship's lunar lander are partly why Artemis has been pushed back before. Any crewed lunar exploration program is a protracted and expensive effort that requires steadfast leadership, the antithesis of the Trump White House. I wish the best to the astronauts who are asked to climb aboard a Moon-bound starship. You're gonna need it.

Adding to the wasted module, SLS and Orion only flew once for the uncrewed Artemis I mission in November 2022. The Trump administration has effectively flushed $47.5 billion down the toilet, according to Time. The stiffest complaints thrown at Artemis have been the budget overruns and development delays. These cancellations would only worsen the situation as NASA is forced to return to square one.

Maybe this time we can cut our losses early. The STS Orbiters cost around $2B per flight in 2025 dollars. I don't know why we're trying to spend so much again when private companies are much cheaper. Just build the hardware and contract out the launches.

from the Obama regime:

As outrage rises over NASA Commercial Crew funding cut, time to make a deal? [06/12/2015]
NASA Still Ordered To Waste $1.4M Per Day [03/24/2011]
The Nasa administrator and astronaut in conversation with Al Jazeera's Imran Garda. [09/21/2010]
Work Continues on New NASA Spaceships, Despite Uncertainties [08/20/2010]
When Will the Next Moon Landing Be? [07/20/2010]
Critical partnerships for the future of human space exploration [07/19/2010]
NASA to boost Muslim self-esteem? [07/05/2010]
Does moon plan have a pulse? NASA backers eye 2 key votes for positive signs [06/26/2010]
Obama Set To Kill Manned Space Exploration [06/16/2010]
NASA Houston Chief: "This is Going to be a Difficult Time" [06/11/2010]
Obama to Kill NASA's Constellation Program, Despite Congressional Approval [06/10/2010]
Senator Hutchison cool to SpaceX's Falcon 9 launch; concerns remain about Obama NASA policy [06/05/2010]
Chandler Predicts Stronger Ties Between Air Force And NASA [05/31/2010]
The Other Great Debate (NASA AA Garver Put on Hot Seat Over Obama Space Policy) [05/30/2010]
Florida Senator Joins Call for NASA Inquiry (0bama Has Defiant Manager Removed) [05/28/2010]
Sen. Russ Feingold Seeks to Stop Return to the Moon [05/19/2010]
NASA's Constellation gets big boost in Senate (Obama defied! unanimous approval!) [05/16/2010]
Dueling rallies: Who supports NASA more? [05/14/2010]
The Space Ruse: Obama's New Frontier [04/16/2010]
The Challenges For Commercial Human Spaceflight [04/13/2010]
No, We Should Not Cut NASA Funding [04/10/2010]
The New NASA: A Path To Anywhere And Everywhere [04/06/2010]
Apollo astronauts dismay at axing of Nasa mission to return mankind to the Moon [03/13/2010]
What Obama Should Say at the Space Summit [03/11/2010]
Public/Private Return to the Moon [02/20/2010]
Congress, NASA Clash on Constellation Cancelation [02/14/2010]
Obama's Move To End Constellation Prompts Industrial Base Questions [02/14/2010]
Obama's Space Plan - a Conservative Argument [02/13/2010]
NASA moon plan was an illusion, wrapped in denial [02/11/2010]
A Rocket Boy and Two Star Trekkers Respond to Choosing Not to Go to the Moon [02/10/2010]
The New NASA: A Path To Anywhere, And Everywhere [02/09/2010]
DOD Studying Rocket Motor Sustainment [02/08/2010]
NASA's Bolden - No Human Space Exploration Until 2030 [02/07/2010]
NASA's Bolden Confronts Unhappiness at Obama Space Plan at Kennedy Space Center [02/06/2010]
Obama space policy cedes Moon to China, Space Station to Russia and Liberty to the Ages [02/06/2010]
NASA Scrambles to Salvage Space Policy [02/06/2010]
Utah Sen. Bennett: Ending Constellation space program a 'really dumb idea' [02/05/2010]
Save Constellation Video [02/04/2010]
Texas lawmakers balk at cutting manned spaceflight [02/02/2010]
Huntsville Mayor Writes Letter To President Obama Over Constellation Cuts [02/01/2010]
America: Lost In Space [01/28/2010]
Obama aims to ax moon mission [01/27/2010]
NASA Study: Shuttle Replacement Schedule 'High Risk' [04/21/2009]
Obama Asks Retired Air Force General to Run NASA [01/13/2009]
If Mike Griffin Had Been Columbus [12/16/2008]
NASA Chief Griffin Bucks Obama's Transition Team [12/11/2008]
Obama May Cancel Space Shuttle Replacement [12/01/2008]
Grim outlook for Ares, says Beltway insider [10/29/2008]
Ares 1 Rocket Vibrations to be Quelled with Weights and Shock Absorbers [08/19/2008]
NASA to Realign (slip to 2015) Constellation Program Milestones [08/11/2008]
Massive Job Cuts in Space Program Likely [04/01/2008]
NASA Moon Rocket May Shake Too Much (Pogo Problem) [01/19/2008]
NASA on target for return to the moon by 2020: officials [12/10/2007]

Bullstuff. Fedgov is insanely wasteful when it comes to space flight. The standards are the standards, but the red tape going through NASA are stupidly expensive.

Let the free market figure out how to do it less expensively, IF it is worth doing to begin with.

Otherwise the urinalists are simply peeing on themselves again.

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