So when you step back and you look at (it), that's a lot of launches to get those missions done." We're delaying our CDR (critical design review) until they complete that. "One milestone before that is the ship-to-ship cryogenic propellant transfer. "SpaceX is on contract to do an uncrewed lander," Free said. SpaceX has not revealed how many Starship tanker flights might be needed or details about the robotic refueling process to transfer thousands of gallons of ultra-cold liquids from one vehicle to another in low-Earth orbit. Multiple problems triggered its self-destruct system four minutes after liftoff. The Super Heavy/Starship blasted off on its maiden flight on April 20. SpaceX is under contract to NASA to carry out an unpiloted lunar landing test flight to clear the way for the Artemis 3 mission.īut the Starship lander will burn up much of its propellant reaching low-Earth orbit, and multiple Super Heavy/Starship flights will be needed to re-fill its tanks before the spacecraft can head for the moon. After a week or so of exploration, the HLS will carry the moonwalkers back to the Orion where they'll rejoin their crewmates for the trip back to Earth. Two astronauts will board the HLS for the flight down to the surface, leaving two fellow astronauts behind in lunar orbit. They will fly to the moon in an Orion capsule launched by an SLS rocket and dock with SpaceX's Human Landing System, or HLS, a variant of the Starship upper stage launched atop the company's Super Heavy booster. The Artemis 3 mission, tentatively scheduled for launch in December 2025, will carry astronauts to the lunar surface. The Artemis 2 mission, sending three NASA astronauts and a Canadian flier on a similar around-the-moon shakedown flight, is targeted for late next year. The space agency launched its first Artemis mission last year, sending an unpiloted Orion capsule around the moon and back in the maiden flight of the Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket.
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