SpaceX Outshines Blue Origin for the Moon

On April 16th, 2021, NASA officially announced that it was signing a launch contract with SpaceX, meaning that they beat out Blue Origin and Dynetics for the contract. The contract is for the Human Landing System (HLS) program. The program worked to have private companies develop landing systems for astronauts to land on the moon again. If successful, NASA hopes to use this system during Artemis, which aims to bring the first female to the Moon, and the first male since the end of the Apollo program in 1972.

Render of Starship on the Moon

Development in the HLS systems officially became public in 2020. NASA had announced that it was moving into the final stage for its contract, the HSL system. Three companies were in the final part of the program: SpaceX, Blue Origin, and Dynetics. Ultimately, NASA awarded the $2.9 billion contract to SpaceX to use Starship to send astronauts to the Moon. 

Render of SLS

Currently, the goal to land astronauts back on the Moon is 2024. This was set by the Trump administration back in 2016. However, there have been multiple setbacks to Artemis, including the troubling production of the Space Launch System (SLS). While I will probably go into more depth into this in the future, SLS is NASA’s next generation of rockets. It will be the most powerful rocket ever, beating the record-holding Saturn V from the Apollo program. However, the production of SLS has been plagued with multiple problems and is becoming very costly. Because of this, many believe that the new Biden administration will relax these deadlines.

While the contract was awarded to SpaceX, NASA still wants Blue Origin and Dynectics to work on their HLS programs. This is to ensure that there is future competition and that there is a backup if SpaceX isn’t able to deliver. By beating out Blue Origin, the divide between SpaceX and Blue Origin has gotten even wider. The founders of both companies, Elon Musk (SpaceX) and Jeff Bezos (Blue Origin) have publicly feuded about their aerospace companies. The contract will also drive Bezos to devote more time to Blue Origin, as he stepped down as the CEO of Amazon to work on his other projects.

Blue Origin's HLS

As mentioned before, NASA wants Elon Musk to modify Starship for the HLS program. Starship will take people and payloads to the Moon, and eventually Mars. Starship will also be able to fly below the atmosphere, like a flight from New York to London. Starship is made up of two components: the spaceship called Starship and the rocket known as Super Heavy. The final version of Starship will be powered by six Raptor engines. The Super Heavy will use 30 Raptor engines. This is because Starship will need enough power to launch itself from the Moon and Mars. Currently, Starship is going through multiple prototypes, which I have talked about before multiple times. Currently, SpaceX is working on getting the test launch for SN12 and working on the final test product: BN1. To get to the Moon, SpaceX will use the Super Heavy.

Starship Upper Stage Seperation

It was important for NASA to award this contract to a private space company. One reason cost. SpaceX was awarded a $2.9 billion contract. While this is a ton of money, it looks like chump change to NASA’s solution to the HLS program. Reports show that NASA’s lunar module would have cost $23 billion. Additionally, NASA can now start working on other projects to reach that deadline of 2024. One problem that NASA also hopes to outsource is a commercial transportation service to the Moon from other companies.

As we get closer to that initial 2024 deadline of getting people back on the Moon, we are going to hear more news about contracts, new technology, much more. Private and commercial companies are going to be a big part of the Artemis program to save money and foster development. In the next few years, the roles of aerospace and rocketry companies are going to grow greatly, as they will play a bigger role in advancing human society to an interstellar society.

Render of Artemis Base Camp

Sources:

“Artemis Program.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Apr. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis_program. 

“Blue Moon.” Blue Origin, www.blueorigin.com/blue-moon/. 

Gohd, Chelsea. “NASA Picks SpaceX's Starship to Land Artermis Astronauts on the Moon.” Space.com, Space, 16 Apr. 2021, www.space.com/spacex-wins-nasa-artemis-moon-lander-contest. 

Pradhan, Arnav. Did You Know Jeff Bezos Is in Space (Well, His Rockets Are)?, Blogger, 25 Feb. 2021, www.theaceofspace.org/2021/01/did-you-know-jeff-bezos-is-in-space.html. 

Pradhan, Arnav. The Future of Spaceflight: Starship, Blogger, 25 Feb. 2021, www.theaceofspace.org/2020/12/the-future-of-spaceflight-starship.html. 

“Space Launch System.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Apr. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Launch_System. 

“SpaceX Starship.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Apr. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX_Starship.