Artemis Moon landing faces rising Starship launch needs
A growing number of Starship launches are now needed to support a Moon landing.
By Khalid Rahman ·
NASA is now estimating that it will need more Starship launches to fuel a lunar lander for a Moon landing. This number has been changing over the years, with NASA often saying it is not sure of the exact number. In 2023, Lisa Watson-Morgan said the number was in the high single digits to low double digits. That means about a dozen launches, which would require SpaceX to launch a depot Starship and then 11 tanker Starships to fully load it with propellant for a lunar voyage. Other officials have said the number is in the high teens. The hope has always been that SpaceX would improve the lift capacity of Starship to bring down the number of tanker flights. But now there are concerns that this might not be happening soon enough to allow SpaceX’s Starship to play a meaningful role in returning humans to the Moon this decade.
A new estimate emerged at the NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel meeting, where panel member Charlie Precourt spoke about risks associated with the Artemis Program and landing humans on the Moon.
NASA is now estimating that it will need more Starship launches to fuel a lunar lander for a Moon landing. This number has been changing over the years, with NASA often saying it is not sure of the exact number. In 2023, Lisa Watson-Morgan said the number was in the high single digits to low double digits. That means about a dozen launches, which would require SpaceX to launch a depot Starship and then 11 tanker Starships to fully load it with propellant for a lunar voyage. Other officials have said the number is in the high teens. The hope has always been that SpaceX would improve the lift capacity of Starship to bring down the number of tanker flights.
But now there are concerns that this might not be happening soon enough to allow SpaceX’s Starship to play a meaningful role in returning humans to the Moon this decade.
A new estimate emerged at the NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel meeting, where panel member Charlie Precourt spoke about risks associated with the Artemis Program and landing humans on the Moon.
Source: Ars Technica
