NASA awards SpaceX deal to provide cargo to Gateway
Capitalism in space: Should NASA ever decide to build its proposed Gateway space station in orbit around the Moon (the odds of which have gone down recently), it announced today that it has signed a deal with SpaceX to use its Falcon Heavy rocket and an upgraded larger version of its Dragon capsule to ship cargo to that station.
The deal calls for at least two missions, and is SpaceX’s first deal in NASA’s Artemis program.
This deal is a major blow to SLS and Boeing, which up to now had a monopoly on all launches to supply and launch Gateway. In fact, Gateway was invented by Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and NASA (not Congress) in order to justify SLS’s existence. That NASA has now decided it is better off using the much cheaper and already operational Falcon Heavy for some Gateway missions suggests that SLS is increasingly vulnerable to cancellation. NASA is making it obvious that other commercial options exist. No need to wait years and spend billions for SLS, when they can go now, for much less.
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 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
Capitalism in space: Should NASA ever decide to build its proposed Gateway space station in orbit around the Moon (the odds of which have gone down recently), it announced today that it has signed a deal with SpaceX to use its Falcon Heavy rocket and an upgraded larger version of its Dragon capsule to ship cargo to that station.
The deal calls for at least two missions, and is SpaceX’s first deal in NASA’s Artemis program.
This deal is a major blow to SLS and Boeing, which up to now had a monopoly on all launches to supply and launch Gateway. In fact, Gateway was invented by Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and NASA (not Congress) in order to justify SLS’s existence. That NASA has now decided it is better off using the much cheaper and already operational Falcon Heavy for some Gateway missions suggests that SLS is increasingly vulnerable to cancellation. NASA is making it obvious that other commercial options exist. No need to wait years and spend billions for SLS, when they can go now, for much less.
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 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
Could the killing of SLS be the cost to get a Covid 19 loan from the government to save Boeing?
Drop the SlS to save the Max?
I think it’s an admission that SLS may not be the vehicle we will use to explore (and settle) the rest of the solar system. At the very least, NASA is keeping its options open. SLS is a failure and they know it.
What are you talking about Robert? SLS did not
have a monopoly of Gateway flights. In fact,
SLS had no Gateway flights at all. Both previous
Gateway contracts — the Power and Propulsion
Element and the MiniHab (the only Gateway
elements needed for the 2024 flight under the
original plan) — provided for commercial launches
for their elements. Boeing won neither of htose.
Oh, and Boeing has been massively lobbying
*against* Gateway for quite some time now.
Their preference is an expendable architecture
using two SLS flights and no commercial flights
per Artemis mission. They are opposed to the
Gateway-centered re-usable architecture planned
for Artemis. It seems in this case you have
things exactly backwards.
From a European perspective, whatever way around it is/was… This is a win for the you guys… Capitalism at its best…. And to be fair… NASA is head and shoulders above anyone else at robotic missions… But when it comes to launches, SpaceX kicks NASAs butt. As You have pointed out so many times Bob, it seems that the SLS is more of a jobs program than a serious attempt to throw stuff into space. I’m pleased that sanity seems to be falling into place, and the logical plan is being considered. I know we don’t see eye to eye on many subjects… But on this space related one, ( which is why I am here ).. go USA!
mkent,
It sure is striking how rapidly Boeing’s enthusiasm for the Gateway has receded as it became evident they weren’t getting any contracts to build it, or for SLS to launch it.
So an architecture where Boeing gets billions more to develop an expensive upper stage for SLS (which of course will take much longer and cost much more money than anticipated) is just the ticket for them, regardless of whether they get a lander contract or not. Unfortunately, it looks like they have a fair shot at getting what they want.
I am not finding much info regarding the DragonVL mentioned in the articles, so I am assuming this is still theoretical. Usually Musk likes to throw something out, even if the numbers are huge or outlandish, and then pared down to reality later.
Dragon XL…