The goal of Project Artemis has been characterized as a journey to the Moon “for scientific discovery, technology advancement, and to learn how to live and work on another world as we prepare for human missions to Mars.”
An ambitious effort, this project has been underway for the better part of a decade where – as is so often the case with space exploration efforts – progress has been tempered by delays.
And it appears there is a new one that’s drawn concern from Transportation Secretary and NASA administrator Sean Duffy.
Duffy recently revealed that SpaceX, the company who’s been contracted to develop a crewed lunar lander for Artemis, has been falling behind on its delivery timelines.
Most Read on IEN:
- Auto Parts Supplier's CEO Resigns Amid Accounting Scandal
- Blast at Tennessee Explosives Factory Kills 16
- PODCAST: Ford's $1B Aluminum Problem; First Brands Scandal; Anderson Sues ATS
- Former Ohio Paper Mill Repurposed to Manufacture Medical Gloves
In the works, currently, are phases deemed “Artemis II and III” – the first of which NASA, in December, pushed back until April of next year. This mission, to send astronauts to the moon and back, would be followed by a trip to the Moon’s south polar region – also pushed back to 2027, with phase 4 scheduled for 2028.
SpaceX will provide the human landing system for Artemis 3 and 4 – a “specially-adapted lunar version of its Starship rocket.”
But Duffy said the Elon Musk-run company isn’t keeping pace, and NASA won’t just wait; the agency will once again open contracts for competing bids.
According to Duffy, SpaceX has pushed out their timelines while “we’re in a race against China," adding “The president and I want to get to the moon in this president’s term, so I’m going to open up the contracts.”
Duffy called SpaceX “a great company” but insisted the best path forward was to let other companies compete for the deal.
Ultimately, this move could make way for SpaceX competitors to sweep in, including the likes of Blue Origin – the Jeff Bezos-backed space technology company.
The prospect of this led SpaceX’s chief executive to take to his social media platform to cast doubt on his competitor’s abilities, posting: "Blue Origin has never delivered a useful payload to orbit, let alone the moon."
Click here to subscribe to our daily newsletter featuring breaking manufacturing industry news.
