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SpaceX Timelines May Slip for Moon Mission · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:07
  As the countdown for the planned return of astronauts, to the
• 0:10
  Moon through. NASA's Artemis program runs down
• 0:13
  to December of twenty twenty-five, looming
• 0:15
  uncertainties with the development of spacex's
• 0:18
  colossal, 400-foot tall, Starship rocket pose, potential
• 0:22
  delays. This possible setback stems from
• 0:25
  ongoing difficulties in the development of the Starship, a
• 0:28
  vehicle intended to transport Part two astronauts to and from
• 0:33
  the lunar surface, NASA's exploration systems development
• 0:36
  Mission. Directorate leader, Jim free
• 0:39
  voices were he's hinting at a probable shift of the schedule
• 0:42
  into 2026 about a year later. And he said, the current
• 0:46
  timeline for the first astronaut moon landing under Artemis
• 0:49
  program. Termed Artemis 3 is set for
• 0:52
  December of 2025 free said during the national academies
• 0:56
  Aeronautics and Space Engineering board meeting Andy
• 0:59
  further, convey, Apprehension over the challenges faced by
• 1:02
  SpaceX, which might push the deadline even further.
• 1:06
  Now. Before undertaking, a lunar
• 1:08
  Voyage, the Starship must first prove its capability for orbital
• 1:12
  travel spacex's first attempt to test.
• 1:15
  This involved an integrated Flight of the Starship, atop B
• 1:18
  33 engines super-heavy booster this initiative launched from
• 1:22
  SpaceX is Starbase facility in south Texas in April transmitted
• 1:26
  essential performance data back to Earth and back to SpaceX
• 1:29
  headquarters. The company declared test
• 1:31
  flight, a success in this is, despite the rocket spinning out
• 1:36
  of control, due to multiple engine failures and eventually
• 1:40
  it was destroyed by a self-activated destruction
• 1:44
  system. Now SpaceX ground teams found
• 1:47
  themselves, tasked with rectifying damage to the Texas
• 1:50
  launch pad and reinforcing ground infrastructure.
• 1:52
  And if all goes well, the next SpaceX super-heavy Starship test
• 1:55
  launch might occur by the end of the summer as indicated by CEO
• 1:59
  of SpaceX. Elon Musk.
• 2:01
  However, the Starship moon lander is in the only Cog in the
• 2:04
  Artemis missions mechanism. That could cause setbacks last
• 2:08
  year, NASA selected Axiom, space to develop a new more flexible
• 2:12
  space suit to protect lunar bound.
• 2:15
  Astronauts the new suit expected to debut in the Artemis 3
• 2:19
  mission. Surpasses NASA's existing design
• 2:23
  in terms of suitability for the reduced gravity environment of
• 2:26
  the moon but its creation like the SpaceX Starship Landing.
• 2:30
  Under May delay. This Mission as identified by
• 2:33
  NASA's Inspector General. Now free emphasizes the SpaceX
• 2:37
  is obligation to deliver according to their fixed price.
• 2:40
  Contract, with NASA, and NASA hit.
• 2:41
  Awarded a 2.9 billion dollar contract to SpaceX and 2021, to
• 2:46
  furnish a Starship vehicle as a human Landing system.
• 2:50
  For the Artemis 3 mission. This marked an attempt to revive
• 2:53
  crew Landings on the moon for the first time since 1972 in the
• 2:57
  contract. Stipulates the any No, expenses
• 3:01
  are rising from delays or design, alterations lies,
• 3:04
  squarely on SpaceX, not with NASA.
• 3:08
  And while some delay in the Artemis, three missions launched
• 3:10
  in 2026 is anticipated. It still presents a formidable
• 3:14
  challenge. The NASA inspector General's,
• 3:17
  2021 report revealed that the moon lander might not be ready
• 3:20
  for crew, flights until 2028 based on the average delay of
• 3:26
  major NASA space flight programs, the Artemis for
• 3:29
  mission. Slated, for launch in, September
• 3:31
  of 2028 is also subject to possible.
• 3:34
  Delays do the construction of a new mobile launcher Tower at
• 3:38
  the, Kennedy Space Center and the presence of a larger Boeing
• 3:42
  built upper stage on a space launch system Moon rocket the
• 3:45
  sesa Tate's, a new launch platform.
• 3:47
  A situation that may strain the 2028 launch schedule in despite
• 3:52
  the prevailing uncertainties NASA remains hopeful about
• 3:55
  SpaceX meeting its obligations with an updated Starship
• 3:58
  schedule submitted. SpaceX under review NASA's,
• 4:02
  expectations of the privates Aerospace manufacturer success
• 4:06
  and fulfilling, its commitments remain very high in the firm's
• 4:10
  performance. However, will be the ultimate
• 4:12
  determinant of the Artemis programs timeline.
• 4:15
  As they put it, they just have to get this thing.
• 4:19
  Flying NASA's free, assertions underscored the looming
• 4:23
  challenges on spacex's path to facilitate human moon, landings
• 4:27
  after nearly five decades, his I pointed remarks have sparked
• 4:31
  widespread discussions within and outside NASA, primarily due
• 4:35
  to the potential influence, they may have on the scheduled
• 4:38
  Artemis missions. They said masses engagement with
• 4:42
  SpaceX hinges on a firm fixed price contract which stipulates
• 4:46
  that their primary obligation is to deliver his assertive or
• 4:50
  marks. Reflect the mounting pressure on
• 4:52
  SpaceX to rise to the occasion and honor the commitment of
• 4:55
  ensuring astronauts land on the Moon, by the stipulated time
• 4:59
  line. The 2.9 billion dollar contract
• 5:02
  that SpaceX earned from NASA. In 2021 emphasizes the creation
• 5:06
  of a Starship vehicle for the Artemis. 3 mission marking
• 5:09
  Humanities return to the lunar surface, since the historic
• 5:12
  Apollo missions. Now, the Starship vehicle part a
• 5:15
  SpaceX is proposal, for the hls, was the most cost-effective bid
• 5:19
  submitted in 2021 posting more cargo capacity than other
• 5:23
  competitors. And since securing this
• 5:25
  contract, NASA has entered a separate agreement with SpaceX
• 5:28
  for a second Starship ladder. Or the Artemis or Mission and
• 5:31
  also awarded blue origin. A contract for a human rated
• 5:35
  Lander for Artemis, five aiming for the moon, a crew of four
• 5:39
  will be launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on board.
• 5:42
  The space launch system rocket and the Orion spacecraft the
• 5:45
  same Duo underwent successful test flights around the moon,
• 5:48
  the previous year during the unmanned Artemis.
• 5:50
  One mission. Meanwhile, a second test flight,
• 5:53
  the Artemis to Mission is penciled in for late 2024.
• 5:57
  The crew of four is set to be sent around the moon's Far Side
• 5:59
  before. Are making their return journey
• 6:01
  to Earth at the heart of the Artemis 3 mission is the Orion
• 6:04
  capsule entrusted with transporting.
• 6:07
  The astronauts to the Moon as vicinity were spacex's
• 6:10
  human-rated. Starship, Lander will be ready
• 6:13
  to meet with them, towering it, 15 stories tall.
• 6:16
  The Starship Lander is designed to write a top.
• 6:19
  Spacex's new super heavy booster, the massive reusable
• 6:22
  rocket currently being developed by SpaceX and once the Starship
• 6:26
  Lander reaches a few hundred miles above the Earth, it will
• 6:29
  be Filled with methane and liquid oxygen methyl Ox
• 6:32
  propellants, using a series of Starship tanker Vehicles.
• 6:36
  Now, this design of SpaceX is Starship is sent to have
• 6:39
  multiple iterations and compassing tankers propellant,
• 6:42
  Depots moon, lander satellite launch vehicles in deep space
• 6:47
  crew Transporters. Now once in lunar orbit, the
• 6:50
  Orion spacecraft is slated to dock with the Starship Lander
• 6:53
  from there, to astronauts will enter the Starship to embark on
• 6:57
  a descent towards a landing site near the Moon's.
• 7:00
  South Pole, the remaining two astronauts will stay aboard the
• 7:03
  Orion capsule as it orbits. The moon following several days
• 7:07
  of lunar exploration. The Starship will return to
• 7:10
  space Rendezvous living with the Orion spacecraft to reunite the
• 7:14
  four-person crew before the Orion capsule finally returns
• 7:18
  the astronauts to Earth. However, the exact number of
• 7:21
  tanker, launches required to support a single Starship flight
• 7:25
  to the Moon remains Under Wraps by both SpaceX and NASA space.
• 7:30
  His contract with NASA also includes an unmanned Starship
• 7:33
  demo landing on the moon preceding the Artemis 3 mission
• 7:37
  to fulfill the requirements set by NASA.
• 7:40
  Space X will have to execute a significant number of launches a
• 7:44
  pivotal milestone. In the pathway, to the Starships
• 7:47
  unmanned demonstration landing on the moon is testing, spacex's
• 7:51
  ship-to-ship cryogenic, propellant transfer system.
• 7:54
  This key technology is required for any mission that wishes to
• 7:58
  send Starship Beyond low earth. Thor.
• 8:00
  But SpaceX and NASA have decided to postpone, the critical design
• 8:04
  review for the Starship moon lander.
• 8:06
  Until after SpaceX has demonstrated as a successful
• 8:09
  propellant, transfer this delay is reflective of the technical
• 8:13
  challenges in the complexity involved in propellant transfer
• 8:16
  in space. I'll be on this.
• 8:18
  There are other technical hurdles that SpaceX will need to
• 8:21
  overcome for instance. There are questions about the
• 8:23
  human rating process for Starship.
• 8:26
  Historically NASA has used a stringent process to certify
• 8:29
  vehicles. As for human spaceflight to
• 8:31
  ensure safety, which includes various design reviews testing
• 8:36
  and also standards for redundancy, the process can take
• 8:40
  years and it is unclear how this will be handled with SpaceX a
• 8:43
  Starship. This is particularly challenging
• 8:46
  because Space X tends to employed an iterative
• 8:49
  development process with frequent design changes and
• 8:52
  improvements being made. Also at stake is a companies
• 8:56
  need to prove that it can reliably recover and reuse.
• 9:00
  It's super heavy boosters while SpaceX has become proficient at
• 9:04
  Landing, its Falcon 9. First stages.
• 9:06
  The super-heavy booster is a much larger and more complicated
• 9:10
  vehicle. Its successful recovery will be
• 9:12
  vital for SpaceX has Ambitions to make space travel more
• 9:16
  affordable and sustainable for everybody.
• 9:19
  And as of now only a few static fires of the super-heavy and the
• 9:23
  initial In Flight tests have happened.
• 9:26
  In the meantime, SpaceX has faced criticism over its
• 9:30
  approach to environmental and safety standards.
• 9:32
  They've been concerns about the impact of Starship testing and
• 9:35
  development activities. As SpaceX is Boca Chica site in
• 9:38
  Texas with some environmental groups and local residents,
• 9:41
  raising issues of noise pollution and disruption of
• 9:45
  wildlife. Then there's the pressure from
• 9:47
  other competitors of the space industry.
• 9:49
  The awarding of the lunar lander contract.
• 9:51
  The SpaceX was met with protests from other companies.
• 9:54
  Knees blue origin which lodged a protest with the US government
• 9:58
  accountability office. The GAO and the GAO denied the
• 10:01
  protest but blue origin and its Partners in the national team.
• 10:05
  Consortium have continued to press for a second hls contract
• 10:09
  and they were awarded this contract in the face of all
• 10:12
  these challenges SpaceX Remains undeterred.
• 10:15
  The company has a history of overcoming hurdles, whether they
• 10:18
  be technical bureaucratic or competitive, it's revolutionized
• 10:22
  a space industry by making. A reality and reducing launch
• 10:27
  costs significantly. Many believe that if anyone can
• 10:30
  deliver them, these ambitious timelines, and Technical
• 10:33
  requirements of the Artemis program.
• 10:35
  It would be SpaceX and Elon Musk.
• 10:39
  Thanks for listening to the Elon Musk podcast today.
• 10:42
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• 10:45
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• 10:48
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• 10:51
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• 10:52
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• 10:54
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• 10:57
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• 11:00
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• 10:56
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• 10:58
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