Astronomy Prints 🌌: Editor's Choice: The doubts about Artemis 3

Wednesday, September 24, 2025

Editor's Choice: The doubts about Artemis 3

09/24/2025

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By Mike Gruss

Doubts about the lunar lander version of SpaceX's Starship continue to mount.

Consider the last couple weeks.

Perhaps most notably, a panel of NASA safety advisers said they were skeptical the vehicle would be ready to support the Artemis 3 mission planned for 2027. That came from a Sept. 19 public meeting when members of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel said they expected the Human Landing System, or HLS, version of Starship would be years late.

At the beginning of the month, former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine told a NASA panel that the choice of SpaceX's Starship put the agency at risk of falling behind China in lunar exploration.

A day earlier, three former NASA leaders wrote in an opinion piece in SpaceNews that it was "indisputably clear that the plan for Artemis will not get the United States back to the moon before China."

NASA's acting administrator, Sean Duffy, did not appreciate the second-guessing.

So what's leading to the recent bout of skepticism? We asked Jeff Foust, SpaceNews' senior staff writer:

"A major factor is the string of Starship test flight failures earlier this year, which showed the challenges SpaceX was facing just getting Starship into orbit. That has pushed back the development schedule: testing propellant transfer in orbit, a key demonstration NASA expected to take place this year, has been postponed to next year. That will delay other testing milestones that make it unlikely that Starship will be ready in 2027 for the Artemis 3 landing, as NASA currently plans."

What could happen next? Any changes?

"There may not be much NASA can do to speed things up. Blue Origin's Blue Moon Mark 2, being developed for missions starting with Artemis 5, is years behind Starship. Trying to switch to an entirely new, simpler lander design, as some have suggested, would likely take even longer. The agency's best course of action may be to provide whatever additional technical expertise or support SpaceX needs, and hope for the best."

SIGNIFICANT DIGIT

8,000

That's the number of applicants for NASA's latest astronaut class. The agency announced the 10 people it had chosen for what's known as Group 24.

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell speaks at World Space Business Week Sept. 16. Credit: Jeff Foust/SpaceNews

ALL THAT SPECTRUM

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said at the World Space Business Week conference Sept. 16 that the company is now working with a wide range of partners to use S-band spectrum SpaceX purchased for $17 billion in cash and stock.

"We hope to be launching our next-generation direct-to-device satellites in two years, and hopefully maybe have some tests on phones late next year," she said.

Using the EchoStar spectrum requires a new generation of satellites. The company also needs partnerships with other firms so that devices can use it. Shotwell called the process "a huge amount of work."

It could also change the D2D market. More on that in the coming weeks.

Trending This Week

Blue Origin is retiring a New Shepard capsule that flew a dozen uncrewed missions over nearly eight years. It was known as RSS H.G. Wells.

Astra is on track for a first launch of Rocket 4 in summer 2026 from Cape Canaveral, Florida.

In July, NASA said it would cancel the VIPR robotic lunar rover. Last week it revived the mission by selecting Blue Origin to deliver it to the moon's south pole in 2027.

U.S. Space Command first conducted a coordinated rendezvous and proximity operation with France. Last week, the U.S. military announced it had done the same with its UK counterparts.

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