Latest / Elon Musk Podcast / SpaceX and Blue Origin HLS -NASA Moon Mission Update

Transcript

SpaceX and Blue Origin HLS -NASA Moon Mission Update · Elon Musk Podcast

• 0:00
  Hi everybody and welcome back to the show.
• 0:02
  In today's episode, we're going to focus on the monumental
• 0:05
  strides being taken in the Artemis program to land humans
• 0:08
  back on the moon. With Artemis 1 successfully
• 0:11
  completed an Artemis 2 on track for a late 2024, possibly 2025
• 0:16
  launch, the space community is buzzing with anticipation now.
• 0:20
  The key person responsible for this moon landing endeavor is
• 0:23
  Doctor Lisa Watson Morgan, the manager of the Human Landing
• 0:27
  System Program at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.
• 0:32
  Now our conversation today, We'll look at the hurdles and
• 0:34
  the opportunities presented by both SpaceX and Jeff Bezos's
• 0:38
  company, Blue Origin, as they develop Landers that could soon
• 0:42
  be making history. Now Doctor Lisa Watson Morgan is
• 0:46
  sort of the linchpin when it comes to the mission of landing
• 0:48
  humans back on the moon. She's working on some hefty
• 0:52
  challenges, but as she puts it right now, today, I don't see
• 0:55
  anything that's stopping us. Watson Morgan appreciates the
• 0:58
  innovation SpaceX has contributed, particularly with
• 1:01
  its advancements in rocket capabilities.
• 1:04
  Now Spacex's partnership with Blue Origin and Lockheed Martin
• 1:08
  experience from their Orion program also bodes well for the
• 1:12
  Artemis missions in the future. But the excitement doesn't come
• 1:15
  without a dose of realism. As a senior director of human
• 1:18
  spaceflight programs at SpaceX, Benji Reed put it during a
• 1:22
  fireside chat. Launch is signal and everything
• 1:26
  else is noise. The emphasis is on doing rather
• 1:29
  than theorizing, on testing rather than speculating.
• 1:33
  It's this hands on approach that's shaping the HLS programs
• 1:36
  future. Now, the next big task for
• 1:39
  Watson Morgan and her team is Spacex's Starship, designed to
• 1:43
  serve as the upper stage of a two stage rocket, and tests are
• 1:47
  underway at Starbase near Boca Chica Beach in South Texas, and
• 1:51
  every test flight is another step closer to making moon
• 1:53
  landings a reality. However, Watson Morgan expresses
• 1:57
  concern about Spacex's very tight schedule, emphasizing that
• 2:01
  test flights are critical to hardware development.
• 2:05
  Now, regulatory issues also play a role in shaping the HLS
• 2:09
  program. For instance, SpaceX is pending
• 2:11
  approval from the US Fish and Wildlife Service due to concerns
• 2:15
  about the water deluge system added to the Starship launchpad,
• 2:18
  and regulatory milestones may seem mundane and boring, but
• 2:22
  they're very essential for maintaining the integrity of
• 2:26
  space missions and ensuring environmental stewardship.
• 2:30
  Now, it's not just about rockets and Landers, though, it's about
• 2:33
  the meticulous work behind the scenes.
• 2:34
  The people that are in this from medical kit testing to training,
• 2:38
  system delivery and crew displays, every aspect is being
• 2:42
  looked into and worked on right now.
• 2:44
  And Watson, Morgan highlighted. While the world is captivated by
• 2:48
  spectacular tests and giant rockets being launched, her team
• 2:52
  is working closely with SpaceX to address all mission unique
• 2:56
  milestones. Now this is the Blue Origin
• 2:59
  part, the Jeff Bezos part. And while SpaceX has been in the
• 3:02
  spotlight, Blue Origin is also playing a role in the HLS
• 3:06
  program. Headed by a national team that
• 3:09
  includes industry giants like Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and
• 3:12
  others, Blue Origin is developing the Blue Moon Mark
• 3:16
  Two Lander, their MK2. This Lander promises to be a
• 3:20
  game changer, capable of transporting up to 30 metric
• 3:23
  tons in One Direction. Now Watson, Morgan, and our team
• 3:27
  are dividing their attention and resources equally between SpaceX
• 3:31
  and Blue Origin. It's always good to have a
• 3:33
  backup, to have two different systems in case something fails,
• 3:37
  and they're recognizing the unique challenges and
• 3:39
  technologies each company brings to the table.
• 3:42
  Now Blue Origin is working with hydrogen as fuel, unlike
• 3:45
  Spacex's methane, but both need to solve similar engineering
• 3:49
  challenges like propellant transfer.
• 3:52
  Spacex's Dragon spacecraft has already been a successful
• 3:55
  venture for the company and docking many times with the
• 3:58
  International Space Station and taking numerous humans into
• 4:02
  space. Now the insights gained from
• 4:04
  Dragon's operations are now being applied to Starship.
• 4:07
  Both SpaceX and Watson Morgan appreciate the overlap in tech
• 4:11
  in lessons that can be shared between the two spacecraft.
• 4:14
  And Watson Morgan draws parallels between the HLS
• 4:17
  program and the Commercial Crew Program or the CCP.
• 4:20
  She noted that the HLS program also borrows ideas of having
• 4:24
  unfettered access to the contractors and providers base
• 4:28
  data to streamline decision making and enhance efficiency,
• 4:32
  and this approach allows her and her team to resolve issues much
• 4:35
  faster, a critical factor in keeping the program on schedule.
• 4:39
  Now as we look ahead to 2024 though, the propellant transfer
• 4:43
  demonstration is going to be a huge step forward that could
• 4:46
  significantly affect the trajectory of future missions.
• 4:50
  Successfully demonstrating this tech not only gets us closer to
• 4:53
  the moon, but also opens doors for future solar system
• 4:57
  exploration. Doctor Lisa Watson Morgan is
• 5:00
  particularly focused on this test as it'll lay the foundation
• 5:03
  for subsequent missions ensuring that both SpaceX and Blue
• 5:07
  Origins technology can effectively operate in lunar
• 5:10
  conditions. And beyond propellant transfers,
• 5:13
  Watson Morgan and her team are also deeply invested in the
• 5:17
  human factors of these missions. Training astronauts to adapt to
• 5:20
  the conditions in a lunar Lander is not a simple task, and
• 5:25
  simulations are being run to prepare them for every
• 5:28
  conceivable scenario. Now mock Landers are being used
• 5:31
  to fine tune not just the astronauts actions, but also the
• 5:34
  technology that will be on board that they'll be using to pilot
• 5:37
  this craft to the moon. What's also interesting is the
• 5:40
  pace at which these developments are happening.
• 5:42
  With the target of 2024 for Artemis 2, there's little room
• 5:46
  to delay. Both SpaceX and Blue Origin are
• 5:49
  involved in rigorous testing, from propellant storage to
• 5:52
  flammability tests within crew cabins to make sure everything
• 5:55
  is set for these lunar missions. And these tests are becoming
• 5:58
  increasingly complex, involving not just individual components
• 6:02
  but integrated systems, a crucial step forward for the
• 6:05
  actual flights and Watson. Morgan holds weekly meetings
• 6:09
  with Blue Origin and more frequent ones if necessary, to
• 6:11
  ensure that the program stays on track.
• 6:14
  And these check insurance are more than just status updates.
• 6:17
  They're collaborative sessions of a team where problems are
• 6:20
  identified, solutions proposed, and action items are assigned
• 6:25
  and delivered. And with the countdown to 2024
• 6:28
  right around the corner, there's a sense of urgency, but also a
• 6:32
  collective determination to make history.
• 6:34
  Once again, thank you for joining me on this episode of
• 6:38
  the Elon Musk podcast today. Don't forget to hit the
• 6:41
  subscribe or the follow button on your preferred podcast
• 6:44
  platform. It's free, takes just a moment,
• 6:47
  and helps us out tremendously. If you want to help us out even
• 6:50
  more, go to patreon.com/stage Zero.
• 6:54
  That's a way that you can contribute every month to keep
• 6:57
  the lights on. Over here at the show, we do a
• 7:00
  show every single day and we have over 400 shows that are
• 7:04
  already complete. So remember that each episode's
• 7:07
  about 10 minutes or less and they help you get caught up with
• 7:10
  what's happening in the world of tech in space.
• 7:13
  Again, the Patreon is patreon.com Stage 0, Atreoncom
• 7:19
  Stage 0, Atreoncom, Stage Zero, and there's a link in the
• 7:24
  descripcion for you. Take care of yourselves and each
• 7:27
  other, and I'll see you in the next one.