Is NASA's Moon Rocket Getting Canceled? (futurism.com)
- Reference: 0175479715
- News link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/24/11/16/0048219/is-nasas-moon-rocket-getting-canceled
- Source link: https://futurism.com/nasa-sls-moon-rocket-might-be-canceled
> According to Ars Technica senior space reporter Eric Berger's insider sources, there's an " [4]at least 50-50 " chance that the rocket "will be canceled." "Not Block 1B. Not Block 2," he added, referring to the variant that was used during NASA's uncrewed Artemis I test flight in 2022 and a more powerful design with a much higher translunar injection payload capacity, respectively. "All of it." To be clear, as Berger himself points out, we're still far "from anything being settled." Nonetheless, the reporter's sources have historically been highly reliable, suggesting the space agency may indeed be getting cold feet about continuing to pour billions of dollars into the non-reusable rocket. [...] "Honestly the people who will ultimately make this decision aren't even in place yet," Berger wrote in a [5]followup tweet , likely referring to the incoming Trump administration. "But there is a big desire for big changes."
[1] https://science.slashdot.org/story/24/10/18/2354259/nasas-100-billion-moon-mission-is-going-nowhere
[2] https://slashdot.org/~schwit1
[3] https://futurism.com/nasa-sls-moon-rocket-might-be-canceled
[4] https://x.com/SciGuySpace/status/1856522880143745133
[5] https://x.com/SciGuySpace/status/1856529449061106132
Musk (Score:2)
Elon Musk is going to trim government spending from $6.5 trillion a year down to $2 trillion. Do you really think he's going to leave NASA alone? He'll probably squash their budget like a bug, and say they should just go to SpaceX instead.
Re: (Score:2)
If he squashes NASA's budget, they won't have any money left to contract SpaceX. If anything, he'd want to increase their budget, while cancelling programs like SLS, such that NASA has no choice but to turn to commercial partners to replace the lost capabilities... and SpaceX is the only one who can realistically do it.
Re: (Score:2)
Outside Boeing, there is also Dreamchaser from Sierra Space, an X-37B in spirit designed for civilian use. NASA gave the budget to Boeing Starliner instead of Dreamchaser for ISS crew missions, but eventually Dreamchaser got the budget for ISS cargo resupply so it is now progressing onward. NASA is not stuck between either SpaceX or those legacy corporations with legacy tech.
Re: Musk (Score:2)
Or, he will increase budget to other projects other then rockets and stuff SpaceX, Blue Origin and many other commercial space companies are creating. It's actually in Musks own interest to further other research he needs for his Mars plans.
Re: Musk (Score:2)
Well, no. Congress decides on budgets. What Musk may achieve is in three parts:
1. Exposing stupid budget expenditures hidden in those massive omnibus bills, embarrassing Congress into doing something.
2. Directing existing spending more usefully. For example, research grants reaaly do not need to be given to Ecuadorian drag shows.
3. finally, in those areas where the Executive does have discretion, not spending all of the money that was allocated.
Re: (Score:2)
Musk really, at this point, isn't in the picture. There is no such thing as a Department of Government Efficiency, at least not yet. And when it is created, by congress and not Trump, then it's unlikely it will have the power to actually trim things to the degree that Musk thinks he can. He wants to trim 2 Trillion USD, but that's just slightly larger than all discretional spending in the budget - he would have to trim entitlements which means he needs more congressional activity to change laws.
And that's
Re: (Score:2)
D.O.G.E. will never be an official department. What it is intended to be, or perhaps what I hope it will be, is an external advisory council. I doubt they will even be paid, at least, not by the government. However, they will be given access to inside information, so that they can highlight "stupid" spending. By highlighting it, they may motivate those actually in the government to do something about it.
Honestly, though, I expect the effects will be very limited. Spending is ultimately dictated by Congress
Re: (Score:2)
> D.O.G.E. will never be an official department. What it is intended to be, or perhaps what I hope it will be, is an external advisory council. I doubt they will even be paid, at least, not by the government. However, they will be given access to inside information, so that they can highlight "stupid" spending. By highlighting it, they may motivate those actually in the government to do something about it.
> Honestly, though, I expect the effects will be very limited. Spending is ultimately dictated by Congress. Back to the topic of TFA: SLS has been a boondoogle for years. Everyone knows that it is a waste of money. And yet, it lives on, because it puts money into the "right" Congressional districts.
> tl;dr: Congresscritters will defend their soup bowls, even in the face of embarrassing revelations by D.O.G.E.
Oh, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy will be paid. Those payments will come in the form of contracts awarded to their crappy companies to do things the Pentagon and the rest of the government already does but now with a massive private sector markup and no bidding process just direct contract awards. The Trump administration is on track to becoming the most corrupt and inept US administration ever now that there is literally no brake on who Trump can appoint without paying any attention to the abilities of his
Re: (Score:2)
Not even Elon can accomplish that.
Re: Musk (Score:1)
Given his role in Space X, this is a conflict of interest, isn't?
Re: Musk (Score:2)
Not really. The Space-X systems actually work. The problems Musk will go after are all the projects and departments that donâ(TM)t work and impede those that do work.
Re: (Score:2)
NASA is SpaceX's only customer. You think SpaceX runs out of Elon's generous pockets? Corporations don't do major science or major engineering projects, except when being paid for by the government.
NASA is SpaceX's only customer - nonsense (Score:2)
Sorry, but the premise your post is built on is utterly wrong.
NASA is even not SpaceX's biggest customer - it's SpaceX itself, with roughly two thirds of launches deploying Starlink satellites.
And it's fair to label their broadband service as "customer" because it's viable business.
Can't blame NASA for SLS. (Score:3)
They're literally forced by acts of law from the Congress to work on it despite the cost. They're not allowed to cancel it, and have been retaliated every single time they tried. But yeah, the program should have gotten a stake through the heart a very long time ago.
I suppose the new Doge will can it (Score:2)
No doubt the new [1]chief of bureaucratic efficiency [usnews.com] will see NASA's moon rocket as a massive waste of taxpayer's money and will cancel it. And it will have nothing at all to do with SpaceX getting the contract instead.
[1] https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2024-11-13/what-is-doge-elon-musk-and-vivek-ramaswamys-new-trump-agency
Re: (Score:2)
New Glenn may finally launch this month.
Who knows, maybe Bezos and Blue Origin will land the replacement launch contracts for all the non-SpaceX stuff.
(SpaceX already has a lander contract: [1]https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in... [nasa.gov] )
[1] https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/nasa-awards-spacex-second-contract-option-for-artemis-moon-landing/
Re: (Score:2)
So what you're saying is that SpaceX only has a 33% chance of landing NASA's former contracts? It's still better than 0% so it's in Musk's interest to can NASA stuff.
And even if SpaceX is barred from competing because of the conflict of interest (fat chance...) it still means that the billionnaire club will get to siphon off more taxpayer's money. Somehow it doesn't make me feel warm and fuzzy. Because quite frankly, fuck Bezos too.
despite hating Musk, wish SpaceX well (Score:2)
don't forget about the business-as-usual scenario that is being discussed here: billions invested in technology that is already obsolete.
Sometimes, even people you hate can do good things - and sometimes, it's good for you if they succeed...
SLS is achieving its purpose (Score:5, Interesting)
The purpose of SLS was never actually to produce a good rocket but instead to keep people working in the factories that used to make space shuttle parts in jobs so that they will keep voting for the relavent congressmen and senators. And I think its achieving that goal.
Re: (Score:1)
It would be way more efficient to just give them the money and benefits they would otherwise make, but not actually make them work. It saves all the paperwork and material they're going to spend on SLS before they select SpaceX and cancel SLS in 4 years. Apparently it's communism when you do that but not communism if you also make them work but what do I know.
Re: (Score:2)
> It would be way more efficient to just give them the money and benefits they would otherwise make, but not actually make them work.
Back in the old days, Boeing was internally nicknamed "The Lazy B". Maybe their old leadership was just ahead of it's time?
Re: (Score:2)
> ,
> Maybe their old leadership was just ahead of it's time?
As is your grammar?
I, for one, welcome our new . . .
Re: (Score:2)
but they have outdated knowledge and process. why would spacex want them?? why hire any of the under performer??
Re: (Score:2)
meanwhile poor people are dying homeless and hungry,
How much have you given to the homeless and hungry? Leon [1]was given a blueprint [weforum.org] for how a few billion of his dollars could end world hunger, and yet he's done nothing. [2]Another take [brookings.edu] on how all the billionaires in the world, each giving a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of their wealth, could take care of a number of problems.
But I agree. Get NASA out of Houston. Since government doesn't create jobs, there is no issue.
[1] https://www.weforum.org/stories/2021/11/elon-musk-un-world-hunger-famine/
[2] https://www.brookings.edu/articles/elon-musk-billionaires-and-the-united-nations-the-1-solution-to-global-development/