We are in a race against China so we need the best companies to operate at a speed that gets us to the Moon FIRST.

Isn’t this a self-declared race? Does China know that it is in a race? And if we are in a race, why did the government wait so long after deciding to go back to the Moon to send out a request for proposals for the Human Landing System (HLS)? And if they were in such a hurry, why did the government slow-walk the paperwork for all those Starship developmental tests?

Best companies? Which companies does Duffy consider to be the best?

Starship is still ahead of any of the other prospective HLS companies, so why be unhappy with the leader? Especially after [*cough*]ing them so hard for so long during development. SpaceX has demonstrated that it is one of the rapid development companies, and it already has an aggressive development and test regimen.

And where is Duffy going to get the budget?

https://x.com/SecDuffyNASA/status/1980257227760955637

Elon responds: “Blue Origin has never delivered a payload to orbit, let alone the Moon.” (Elon adds: “(Useful payload.)”

I think the Blue Ring demonstrator on that first New Glenn flight technically counts as “payload to orbit.” But it is also true that it failed to separate from the second stage. Either way, not exactly an overwhelming flight record.

Eric Berger comments: “Internally, Duffy is talking about a 30-month plan to get humans to the Moon. Among the alternatives are Blue Origin (I recently reported on a Mark I-only plan) and an old-space, cost-plus proposal. Only a fool would believe the latter is a viable option this decade.”

https://x.com/SciGuySpace/status/1980268686805020893

Oh-that’s just great! Now I have to call the paint guys again! I was going to use that money to buy Bubbles a gold-plated—never mind [CLICK]