Most notably, SpaceX recently won a pivotal International Space Station HMS contract to provide the human landing system for NASA’s Artemis III mission. This mission will put humans back on the surface of the Moon, for the first time since the Apollo program ended in 1972. This important milestone demonstrates SpaceX’s continued commitment to moving Starship development forward. The contractor is under growing pressure from NASA to speed up its timeline.
A crewed Artemis III mission is currently expected to aim for the lunar south pole. This region is believed to hold important resources and holds amazing promise for scientific discovery. SpaceX’s race against the clock for a historic lunar landing before the end of former President Donald Trump’s term only adds to the tension. At the same time, China is planning its own crewed moon landing, perhaps as soon as 2030.
As of this writing in late October 2023, SpaceX has done 11 suborbital test flights, working their way toward the operational capabilities demanding for missions to the moon. The company has never successfully landed the upper stage back at the company’s original launch site. This crucial step makes sure that future missions will be reliable. To bolster these efforts, SpaceX is actively developing infrastructure at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39-A, which will serve as one of its primary operational pads alongside Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37.
SpaceX has been following several parallel development tracks for the Starship program. Another team trains its efforts on the highest quality core rocket launch and landing system possible. At the same time, a separate team works on NASA’s unique human-rated landing requirements. The company aims to achieve critical milestones by 2026 that will facilitate the eventual launch of Starship toward the moon.
A big part of this effort is a $1.8 billion infrastructure project now being built at Kennedy Space Center. This effort includes the creation of a dedicated Starship manufacturing site to help accommodate ramped up production rates needed for future missions. To successfully perform a moon landing, SpaceX must figure out and demonstrate ship-to-ship propellant transfer in Earth orbit. Through this process, the lunar lander will be able to refuel several times using depots located in cislunar space, which extends more than 220,000 miles between the Earth and moon.
We insist on full transparency so American taxpayers aren’t left holding the bag. SpaceX will bear the heightened costs of this challenging endeavor. The company’s creativity and high level of investment are indicative of their desire to usher in the next era of space exploration.