Technology is simple but politics is hard on the NASA Lunar Human Landing System

If Americans return to the moon for the first time in 50 years, Technology they will need a ride to take them for the last 60 miles or so on their journey.

SpaceX has already won a pre-opened test flight contract and then the first equipment integrated. Blue Origin, who lost that cycle, is still taking the matter to court. Now, two more things have happened on the Artemis Alliance return journey.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has released the first report on the environmental impact of the orbital launch at the SpaceX facility in Boca Chica, Texas.

Resolving this concern is crucial for SpaceX to develop and use its own Starship car, which will bring people back to the moon and ultimately take future inhabitants to Mars.

Ars Technica suggests that the report is “not intimidating.” It highlighted other issues related to noise, road closures and impacts especially on nearby wildlife.

The public has been invited to comment for a period of 30 days before the final report is released. Naturalists will have much to say about the effects of wildlife.

Residents of Boca Chica will also have some comment on the transformation of their sleeping seaside town into a luxury passport.

However, the consensus seems to be that the issues raised by the FAA are manageable and that SpaceX, sooner or later, will be allowed to continue orbital testing of the Super Heavy / Starship system. Whether the matter ends up in the organisation’s court remains an open question.

NASA has selected five companies to harvest the “maturity” of the month Human Landing Systems (HLS) for the second phase of the Artemis program to return to the moon.

These companies are SpaceX, Blue Origin, Dynetics, Lockheed Martin, and Northrup Grumman. According to NASA, “Selected companies will develop ground-breaking concepts, evaluate their performance, design, construction standards, equipment verification requirements, communication facilities, safety, accommodation of health workers, and medical capacity.

These companies will also reduce the risk of landfills by conducting critical tests and improving the maturity of critical technologies. ”

That Boeing is not one of the selected companies is not surprising. The prestigious aerospace company is still embroiled in controversy over its commercial airlines, Starliner.

The fact that Lokheed Martin and Northrup Grumman are part of the list is interesting. Both companies are also part of the so-called “national team” led by Blue Origin to develop a Blue Moon pilot.

According to Space News spokespersons Lokheed Martin and Northrup Grumman, while expressing support for the Blue Origin initiative, they also suggested that the two companies look for alternatives. They defended their bet in case Blue Origin failed to make the cut again.

Blue Origin separated both NASA and its rivals in the aerospace industry by protesting for the first prize that went to SpaceX in the organisation’s court.

The company’s stubbornness could be a counter-strike with winning a contract in the second phase of HLS’s monthly development.

Will Congress prepare enough funding for the second HLS program? Failed to do so in the first round, which is why only SpaceX was awarded.

NASA Commander Bill Nelson had hoped to raise money not only for a second occupant but for a major overhaul of the space agency’s $ 3.5 trillion “human infrastructure”.

However, opposition to the bill from both Republicans and the moderate Democrats has cast their doubts.

The recent division of NASA’s space office into two separate entities, one for space exploration and the other for space operations, raised eyebrows.

Kathy Lueders, a popular airline manager who has been in charge of the airline, has been transferred to a new space operations unit, which will deal with the International Space Station (ISS) and the Commercial Crew. Jim Free, a former NASA rehabilitated astronaut, will be in charge of the new spacecraft, and Artemis himself.

This decision is considered to be a reduction for the Lueders although it has been a great success in the continuation of the human aircraft and prior to that Commercial Crew program.

Free is less familiar with the trading space than Lueders. How reorganization will affect the progress of the Artemis program going forward is a question that has no clear answer at present.

The technical challenges of taking America and eventually the earth back to the moon are enormous. But those challenges are mitigated by the political barriers that exist between now and the day in the next steps that step on the moon.

ALSO SEE: For comparison: Microsoft Surface Pro 8 vs 12.9-inch iPad Pro

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top