House hearing on Artemis yesterday signals strong doubts about the program in Congress
The space subcommittee of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee yesterday held a hearing on space, one day after the Senate held its own hearing on the nomination of Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator.
The House hearing however was not about Isaacman, but was apparently staged to highlight what appears to be strong reservations within Congress about NASA’s Artemis program, as presently structured. Its timing, just after the Isaacman hearing, was clearly aimed at garnering as much publicity as possible.
Video of the hearing can be seen here.
The focus of the hearing was also on China, and how there is real fear in Congress that its space program is outstripping NASA’s. Both the Republican committee chairman and the ranking Democrat stressed these concerns, and the need to beat China to the Moon and beyond.
More important, all four witnesses pushed the same point.
The rallying cry at this hearing as well as yesterday’s is the “race” with China.
…Foushee asked each of the witnesses for one-word answers to the question: is NASA on track to get back to the Moon before Chinese taikonauts arrive?
Not all succeeded with one word, but their sentiment was similar. Cheng replied “no, I am very pessimistic.” Swope: “worried.” Besha: “maybe.” Griffin: “no possible way…with the present plan.”
Former NASA administrator Mike Griffin was the most blunt in his criticism of NASA.
Former NASA administrator Mike Griffin
speaking at the hearing
He agreed on the need for U.S. leadership and sustainable presence, but is convinced NASA is headed in the wrong direction. “We have squandered a 60-year head start because Artemis won’t work” largely because the Human Landing Systems (HLSs) needed to get astronauts down to and back from the lunar surface require in-space refueling of cryogenic propellants.
Both HLS landers NASA has under contract — SpaceX’s Starship and Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark II — rely on in-space cryogenic refueling even though it has never been demonstrated. Cryogenic propellants need to be constantly replenished due to boil-off, a distinct challenge in orbit around Earth or the Moon.
Griffin doesn’t see a way to overcome that with current technology and insists NASA should “only stick to a plan if it makes sense” and Artemis doesn’t. “We should start again.”
Griffin’s technical concerns shouldn’t be taken too seriously. In fact, I think he is fundamentally wrong, since eventually it is going to be necessary to develop this refueling technology if we are going to colonize the solar system.
The bottom line however is the nature of the hearing itself. Congressional hearings like this are never an accident. They are planned photo-ops designed to push a polticial agenda. Each witness was chosen by the committee knowing essentially what each would say, and that includes Griffin. The committee wanted these opinions aired, in a manner that would be noticed by the press.
In other words, both parties in Congress were making it clear they want the U.S. to succeed in space, and from both parties in the House there is growing hostility to Artemis as presently designed.
These facts do not speak well for the future of SLS and Orion.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
The space subcommittee of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee yesterday held a hearing on space, one day after the Senate held its own hearing on the nomination of Jared Isaacman as NASA administrator.
The House hearing however was not about Isaacman, but was apparently staged to highlight what appears to be strong reservations within Congress about NASA’s Artemis program, as presently structured. Its timing, just after the Isaacman hearing, was clearly aimed at garnering as much publicity as possible.
Video of the hearing can be seen here.
The focus of the hearing was also on China, and how there is real fear in Congress that its space program is outstripping NASA’s. Both the Republican committee chairman and the ranking Democrat stressed these concerns, and the need to beat China to the Moon and beyond.
More important, all four witnesses pushed the same point.
The rallying cry at this hearing as well as yesterday’s is the “race” with China.
…Foushee asked each of the witnesses for one-word answers to the question: is NASA on track to get back to the Moon before Chinese taikonauts arrive?
Not all succeeded with one word, but their sentiment was similar. Cheng replied “no, I am very pessimistic.” Swope: “worried.” Besha: “maybe.” Griffin: “no possible way…with the present plan.”
Former NASA administrator Mike Griffin was the most blunt in his criticism of NASA.
Former NASA administrator Mike Griffin
speaking at the hearing
He agreed on the need for U.S. leadership and sustainable presence, but is convinced NASA is headed in the wrong direction. “We have squandered a 60-year head start because Artemis won’t work” largely because the Human Landing Systems (HLSs) needed to get astronauts down to and back from the lunar surface require in-space refueling of cryogenic propellants.
Both HLS landers NASA has under contract — SpaceX’s Starship and Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark II — rely on in-space cryogenic refueling even though it has never been demonstrated. Cryogenic propellants need to be constantly replenished due to boil-off, a distinct challenge in orbit around Earth or the Moon.
Griffin doesn’t see a way to overcome that with current technology and insists NASA should “only stick to a plan if it makes sense” and Artemis doesn’t. “We should start again.”
Griffin’s technical concerns shouldn’t be taken too seriously. In fact, I think he is fundamentally wrong, since eventually it is going to be necessary to develop this refueling technology if we are going to colonize the solar system.
The bottom line however is the nature of the hearing itself. Congressional hearings like this are never an accident. They are planned photo-ops designed to push a polticial agenda. Each witness was chosen by the committee knowing essentially what each would say, and that includes Griffin. The committee wanted these opinions aired, in a manner that would be noticed by the press.
In other words, both parties in Congress were making it clear they want the U.S. to succeed in space, and from both parties in the House there is growing hostility to Artemis as presently designed.
These facts do not speak well for the future of SLS and Orion.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
“Griffin’s technical concerns shouldn’t be taken too seriously.”
His concerns need to be taken very seriously—unlike Ayn Rand or economists, Mike literally wrote the book on Space Vehicle Design.
https://www.amazon.com/Space-Vehicle-Design-AIAA-Education/dp/0930403908
Libertarian ideology has made you blind on this subject once again. How many times have we seen engineers overridden by bean counters, as Bob Lutz wrote about.
We are about to see humans go Beyond Earth Orbit with a program made during flat budgests. Musk and Bezos have well over a trillion bucks, and will fall behind a program that you and others repeated tried to axe.
My only objection is that he wanted ISS dead. He at least saved Hubble, where O’Grief would have let that die.