The Starship would be the world's largest rocket. It may also provide the cheapest launches.
To accomplish this, SpaceX will need to launch fleets of Starships on a daily basis,
as well as customers for the massive cargo capacity. SpaceX's Starship spacecraft and
Super Heavy rocket, which is referred to collectively as Starship, are fully reusable
transportation systems designed to transport both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, the Moon,
Mars, and beyond. The Starship will be the world's most powerful launch vehicle capable
of carrying more than 100 metric tons to Earth orbit. When Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX,
talks about Starship, he mostly talks about human exploration. Making humans a multi-planetary
species by establishing bases on Mars, saving humanity from extinction. Musk responded to a
tweet about the Starship today by saying that a Starship will be an incredible scientific enabler.
Full reusability and a high production rate drive an order of magnitude increase in money per
kilogram to orbit and beyond. Because the primary user of this rocket is the next generation
Starlink constellation, science does not need to cover fixed costs. Regardless of the vast,
great potential, NASA just suggested that Starship might not fly to orbit this year.
A recent NASA research paper indicates that SpaceX's Starship next generation launch vehicle
system might carry out its orbital test flight next year. The paper, part of NASA's submission
to the 73rd International Astronautical Congress set to start today in France,
uses publicly available information to share details about NASA's Artemis program. Starship
will play a central role in Artemis, which marks NASA's efforts to establish a permanent presence
on the moon. The spacecraft will be responsible for landing astronauts on the lunar surface,
and the research paper shares other details about the rocket, such as its tanker variants that will
form the first propellant deposit in space in the modern era. However, NASA's document leaves
Starship's future unclear after astronauts are transferred to the Orion spacecraft.
The document provides rare insights into NASA's plans for the Artemis program,
which will use the agency's Space Launch System rocket to conduct flights to the lunar surface.
While the first Artemis mission is slated to launch soon after NASA fixes fuel leak problems
in its supporting architecture, the third mission will become the first to land astronauts on the
lunar surface. Today's research paper, submitted by NASA officials to the IAC, shares details on
the agency's plans for the Artemis 3 mission. It outlines that as part of Artemis 3, astronauts
will take to the skies from Earth and SLS on board the Orion spacecraft. However, before this happens,
Starship will first launch its propellant depot to orbit, followed by tanker Starships to fill the
depot. Once the depot is filled, the lunar Starship variant will lift off, fuel up from the depot,
and then start its journey to the Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit, or NRHO, after performing a translunar
injection. Once it reaches its destination and performs the necessary checkouts and tests,
Starship will wait for the astronauts which will leave Earth on board the Orion spacecraft
on the SLS. However, what will happen to the Starship after astronauts return from the moon
and make their way back on the Orion is unclear, as after this, the HLS Starship will unlock and
complete its disposal, according to NASA. NASA also explained SpaceX's progress with Starship
in the document, and it shares that after having completed Starship's 10-kilometer flight and
landing, SpaceX is now focusing on the rocket's first orbital flight test. This, according to the
space agency, will come next year. The paper was posted on NASA's technical reports server in
August, and since it addresses IAC's conference for this year, it can be reasonably inferred
that the wording suggests that the first Starship orbital flight will take place in 2023. However,
this might not be the case since in the next year is still vague, and could imply the year after the
10-kilometer suborbital flight test, or 2022. Right now, SpaceX is also working on systems
for Starship maneuvers and sequences to make it compatible with Orion for docking, as the two
will pair together near the moon to transfer the astronauts from the latter to the former.
Additionally, docking mechanisms of Starship with the propellant depot and thermal and
meteoroid protection systems of the spacecraft have also been tested. Finally, NASA plans to
award SpaceX with the HLS Option B contract this fall. The contract is an extension of the Artemis
program, and will see SpaceX develop a spacecraft capable of sustaining human presence on the moon.
Meanwhile, NASA is laying the groundwork for another attempt to launch the Space Launch System
on the Artemis 1 mission later this month. Specifically, NASA now is gearing up for a
crucial fueling test of its Artemis 1 moon rocket on Wednesday that could keep the huge
vehicle on track for a liftoff less than a week later. Wednesday's fueling test will show if the
fix worked. The Artemis 1 team plans to pump super-cold propellant, which consists of liquid
hydrogen and liquid oxygen, into the SLS on Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The operation is scheduled to begin at 7.15am EDT on Wednesday. It will conclude when the
objectives for the test have been met, NASA officials wrote in an update on Friday.
You can watch the test live here, directly via the Space Agency.
If successful, we have a launch attempt on September 27th to look forward to.
But in case Artemis 1 cannot hit the September 27th launch opportunity,
a backup window opens on October 2nd. The Artemis 1 stack rolled out to Pad 39B
on August 16th from KSC's Vehicle Assembly Building. If Wednesday's fueling test does
not go well, SLS and Orion may have to go back to the VAB for more extensive work.
Artemis 1 might also have to roll back to the VAB for another reason. The mission's
flight termination system, which is designed to destroy the rocket if it veers off course
during launch, was certified for just a 25-day stretch. That time is already up,
and NASA needs a waiver from the US Space Force to let Artemis 1 launch in its present condition.
The Space Force oversees the eastern range for rocket launches.
NASA already received one such waiver from 20 days to 25 days and has requested for another one.
If the second request is denied, the FTS or Flight Termination System would have to be
recertified, which would require a rollback to the VAB. For now, there's still a waiting game
and a lot of ifs surrounding the timeline for the Artemis 1 launch. The ultimate goal of this
project is to get the SLS rocket to orbit and deploy the Orion capsule, which is built for
astronauts but will fly empty for this test mission. The capsule will go on to orbit the
back home. The Artemis 1 mission is just the beginning of a program that will aim to return
humans to the moon and eventually land crewed missions on Mars. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson
said that the issues during the first two scrubs have not caused any delays to future Artemis
program missions. Even so, we all really know they just want the SLS rocket to get off the ground
first. Thank you so much for watching, and if you enjoy what my team and I are doing,
you can become a patron through our Patreon link in the description below. Otherwise,
as always, this is Kevin with GreatSpaceX, and my team and I will see you next time.
