SpaceX defended its progress developing a lander that will put Americans back on the moon, following remarks by NASA’s administrator that the agency will reopen the program to other bidders.
In a lengthy blog post Thursday, Elon Musk’s space company said it “rapidly advanced” the core Starship spacecraft through 11 test flights and reached 49 milestones in developing the HLS (Human Landing System) version of the craft designed to reach the lunar surface as part of the government’s Artemis program.
“Starship continues to simultaneously be the fastest path to returning humans to the surface of the Moon and a core enabler of the Artemis program’s goal to establish a permanent, sustainable presence on the lunar surface,” it said.
Sean Duffy, NASA’s acting administrator, shocked the space world when he recently remarked on a Fox News program that he was “opening that contract up” in an effort to get to the moon again before China.
“We’re going to have a space race in regard to American companies competing to see who can actually get us back to the moon first,” he said.
In a later interview with CNBC, he called SpaceX an “amazing company” but added, “The problem is, they’re behind. They’ve pushed their timelines out, and we’re in a race against China.”
NASA awarded SpaceX contracts worth roughly $4 billion to turn the company’s Starship vehicle into a lunar lander that can carry astronauts to the moon as early as 2027. However, members of NASA’s safety panel warned last month they doubted that timeline could be met.
The administrator’s remarks incensed Musk, who claimed in a post on social media that Duffy, also President Trump’s transportation secretary, wasn’t smart enough for the job. “The person responsible for America’s space program can’t have a 2 digit IQ,” he wrote.
Duffy toned down the rhetoric with his own post that said, “Love the passion. The race to the Moon is ON. Great companies shouldn’t be afraid of a challenge. When our innovators compete with each other, America wins!”
NASA awarded Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin a $3.4-billion contract in 2023 to develop its own lunar lander to carry human astronauts to the moon by 2029, a date even farther out than SpaceX’s.
In defending its program, SpaceX said the size of Starship is unmatched and it is uniquely qualified to carry astronauts and cargo such as rovers, lunar habitats and nuclear reactors to the moon, with a capacity of up to 100 metric tons. It noted that benchmarks the HLS system has met include starting its engines in a chilled and “vacuum-optimized” chamber that simulates the thermal conditions of space.
Experts say a key hurdle SpaceX has yet to clear is transferring propellant to Starship while it is in Earth’s orbit so it can reach the moon. SpaceX said in the post that it is targeting next year to complete that test.
SpaceX moved its headquarters from Hawthorne to Texas last year but still retains large operations in the South Bay city. It also is seeking to increase the number of its Falcon 9 commercial and military flights at Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County.
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