Latest / Elon Musk Podcast / SpaceX/NASA Mission Faces Year Long Delays

Transcript

SpaceX/NASA Mission Faces Year Long Delays · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:01
  Hey everybody, welcome back to the Elon Musk Podcast.
• 0:05
  This is a show where we discuss the critical Crossroads, the
• 0:08
  Shape, SpaceX, Tesla X, The Boring Company, and Neuralink,
• 0:13
  and I'm your host, Will Walden. NASA has recently announced some
• 0:18
  schedule changes for its Artemis program, aiming to enhance the
• 0:22
  long term scientific exploration of the Moon and prepare humans
• 0:27
  for expeditions to the Red Planet of Mars, and this
• 0:30
  involves SpaceX and their Starship program.
• 0:33
  The adjustments involve the Artemis 2 and Artemis 3
• 0:36
  missions, now slated for September 2025 and 2026
• 0:41
  respectively, and Artemis 4, set for 2028 will be the first
• 0:45
  mission to the Gateway Lunar Space Station.
• 0:48
  This shift in planning reflects NASA's commitment to safety and
• 0:51
  its approach to addressing challenges in first time
• 0:54
  developments and operations. This is an experimental ship
• 0:58
  that will be going to the moon. So the Artemis 2 mission, which
• 1:02
  is the first crude lunar journey, now targets a September
• 1:06
  2025 launch. Artemis 3, scheduled for the
• 1:09
  following year, is planned to land astronauts near the lunar
• 1:13
  South Pole. These revised dates or response
• 1:16
  to the need for extra time to address challenges and ensure
• 1:19
  the safety of astronauts, particularly given the
• 1:22
  complexity of these missions. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson
• 1:25
  emphasized the agency's dedication to astronaut safety
• 1:29
  and the success during this mission.
• 1:31
  He said the commercial and international partnerships in
• 1:35
  advancing humans understanding of its place in the solar system
• 1:39
  are paramount, and Nelson described Artemis as a symbol of
• 1:42
  global collaboration in achievement.
• 1:44
  Space exploration and the primary driver behind the
• 1:47
  Artemis 2 schedule adjustment is ensuring cruise safety.
• 1:51
  The mission will test the Orion spacecraft's environmental
• 1:54
  control and life support systems, and recent tests to
• 1:58
  qualify these components have revealed some issues needing
• 2:02
  additional resolution time, including a battery problem and
• 2:06
  challenges with a circuitry component responsible for air
• 2:10
  ventilation and temperature control.
• 2:13
  NASA is also investigating the unexpected loss of charred layer
• 2:17
  pieces from Artemis 1 spacecraft heat shield.
• 2:20
  Now Artemis one took a trip around the moon and came back
• 2:23
  down to Earth, and the heat shield was kind of broken up on
• 2:28
  its way back in. The investigation, expected to
• 2:31
  conclude during the spring time of 2024, involves extensive
• 2:35
  sampling, testing and data review, and they've been testing
• 2:38
  this since the Artemis 1 mission came back down to Earth.
• 2:41
  All of 2023 This methodological Edit this out This methodical
• 2:46
  approach aims to fully understand the issue and prevent
• 2:49
  its recurrence and future missions.
• 2:51
  Now there's a Artemis 3 timeline update too.
• 2:54
  It's designed to incorporate lessons from Artemis one and two
• 2:58
  and address development challenges facing edit this out
• 3:02
  challenges faced by NASA's industry partners.
• 3:05
  This approach, recognizing the increased complexity of each
• 3:08
  crude mission, allows for additional testing and
• 3:11
  refinement of new capabilities, particularly those being
• 3:14
  developed by SpaceX and Axiom Space.
• 3:18
  SpaceX is developing the Starship for the human landing
• 3:22
  system, and Axiom Space is developing the lunar Space suit.
• 3:27
  SpaceX is right on target for a launch of the HLS edit This out
• 3:33
  is right on target for mid February for the third launch of
• 3:38
  their Starship from Boca Chica Starbase, Texas.
• 3:42
  Now, Catherine Corner, the Associate Administrator at NASA,
• 3:45
  said. We're letting the hardware talk
• 3:47
  to us so that crew safety drives our decision making.
• 3:50
  She explained that each Artemis flight test is aimed at reducing
• 3:53
  risks for future moon missions and resolving challenges
• 3:56
  associated with first time capabilities and operations.
• 4:00
  Alongside these mission updates, NASA is reviewing the schedule
• 4:03
  for launching the Gateway Lunar Space station's first integrated
• 4:07
  elements. The review aims to provide more
• 4:09
  development time and better aim this launch with Artemis 4 in
• 4:13
  2028, ensuring A cohesive and efficient program progression.
• 4:19
  Now NASA has requested Artemis human landing system provider
• 4:22
  SpaceX and also Blue Origin to apply knowledge gained in
• 4:26
  developing their systems towards future variations.
• 4:29
  These variations could potentially deliver large cargo
• 4:32
  on later missions, expanding the scope and capabilities of the
• 4:36
  Artemis program, which is already a pretty ambitious
• 4:40
  program now, the Deputy Associate Administrator of
• 4:44
  Exploration Systems Development at NASA emphasized the need for
• 4:47
  getting foundational systems right for safe and successful
• 4:50
  long term exploration. He reiterated the priority of
• 4:54
  crew safety in the Artemis programs, moon to Mars
• 4:57
  exploration goals, and they will continue working with the crew
• 5:01
  and the companies involved to make this as safe as possible.
• 5:06
  NASA's leaders also stressed the importance of timely delivery by
• 5:09
  all partners to maximize flight objectives with available
• 5:12
  hardware, including SpaceX. Regular progress assessments and
• 5:16
  integrated programmatic planning are essential for the agency and
• 5:19
  its partners to achieve their exploration goals, and the
• 5:22
  Artemis program shows that we can move forward with space
• 5:25
  exploration. They're aiming to explore more
• 5:28
  of the Moon than ever before, and they seek to learn how to
• 5:31
  live and work on, edit this out to live and work in space, and
• 5:35
  prepare for future human exploration on the Red Planet of
• 5:38
  Mars. NASA's foundation for deep
• 5:41
  spikes exploration includes the Space Launch System, rocket
• 5:44
  exploration, Ground systems, Orion spacecraft, the Starship
• 5:49
  Human Landing system, next generation Space suits, Gateway,
• 5:53
  lunar space Station, and Rovers for the moon as well.
• 5:57
  And these components are all integral to the Artemis program.
• 5:59
  Success in the agency's broader space exploration objectives to
• 6:03
  get people out into the Solar system, and the recent schedule
• 6:07
  revisions in NASA's program highlight the agency's focus on
• 6:10
  overcoming technical challenges and ensuring the mission's
• 6:14
  successes. This pragmatic approach is
• 6:16
  essential for establishing A sustainable and secure framework
• 6:20
  for space exploration, setting the stage for more complex
• 6:23
  future missions. These changes mark a crucial
• 6:26
  step in advancing human presence on the Moon and eventually human
• 6:30
  exploration of Mars. Hey, thank you so much for
• 6:33
  listening today. I really do appreciate your
• 6:36
  support. If you could take a second and
• 6:37
  hit the subscribe or the follow button on whatever podcast
• 6:40
  platform that you're listening on right now, I greatly
• 6:43
  appreciate it. It helps out the show
• 6:45
  tremendously and you'll never miss an episode.
• 6:48
  And each episode is about 10 minutes or less to get you
• 6:51
  caught up quickly. And please, if you want to
• 6:54
  support the show even more, go to patreon.com/stage Zero and
• 7:00
  please take care of yourselves and each other.
• 7:02
  I'll see you tomorrow.