SLS In Big Trouble! NASA Just Declared This About SpaceX's Starship

imagine what NASA would be now without SpaceX spacex's importance has been proven over the years with the Falcon rocket and dragon and now Starship with the success of flight five especially successfully catching super heavy has further increased spacex's role for NASA especially when this agency's vehicles are showing many problems so how important are SpaceX and flight 5 to NASA let's find out on today's episode of great SpaceX flight 5 really did not disappoint anyone who believed in and supported it with its unbelievable success especially in the attempt to catch super heavy for SpaceX it'll be an important step for them to reach the goal of full reusability an essential factor for further goals achieving full reusability as a GameChanger this Milestone is crucial for reducing the cost of space exploration and enabling faster turnaround times between launches the ability to relaunch both the super heavy booster and Starship will drastically lower expenses allowing NASA to conduct more frequent missions with less Financial strain moreover this breakthrough brings us closer to long-term goals like establishing a lunar base or conducting regular missions to Mars full reusability isn't just a technical achievement it's the foundation for making human life multiplanetary but besides SpaceX NASA will probably be the agency most excited about this success NASA more than any other agency has the most to gain from the success of spacex's Starship program as part of the Artemis program Starship will serve as the human Landing system or hls responsible for transporting astronauts to the lunar surface during emis 3 this pivotal role makes Starship a critical component of NASA's plan to return humans to the moon for the first time in over half a century however before that can happen SpaceX must complete rigorous testing to ensure the vehicle's reliability these tests include everything from orbital refueling to lunar Landings Milestones that SpaceX is rapidly working toward in preparation for the upcoming emis missions this is clearly shown in Bill Nelson's congratulatory message after the flight as we prepare to go back to the Moon Under Artemis continued testing will prepare us for the Bold missions that lie ahead including to the South Pole region of the Moon and then on to Mars in response musk affirmed thank you sir looking forward to serving NASA and returning Humanity to the Moon recently musk also revealed a plan Starship can enable a permanently crude Science Station on the moon which would be super cool moon base Alpha some even hypothesize that NASA may have influenced the FAA thereby helping us not have to wait until November for flight 5 so why is the success of Starships so important to NASA well that's because the emis 3 mission is only less than 2 years away meanwhile SpaceX still has many steps to take such as building and testing the Starship hls or developing a refueling system to achieve those goals they need to launch a lot of Starships to ensure reliability Starship tankers also need to be developed to serve the refuel effort besides launching Landing a lot also needs to be focused on it'll increase the reliability of the effort to safely land on the lunar surface and only when it is truly fully reusable meaning successfully Landing both super heavy and ship can all of these requirements be implemented catching super heavy is the first step in that preparation based on the recent success musk and SpaceX also planned to catch ship early next year in addition to achieving full reusability this will be the next step in emis preparations as the ship will have a more direct impact on the mission than super heavy after the moon we naturally turn our gaze toward Mars Starship was created to colonize Mars and SpaceX more than any other organization is showing the greatest hope of reaching the planet but getting to Mars involves more than just building a spacecraft it requires Innovations in long duration life support systems in orbit refueling capabil ities and safe habitats for astronauts to live and work on the red planet spacex's ambitious plans could pave the way for a permanent human presence on Mars with Starship as the central vehicle for these missions while NASA has its own plans for Mars by 2035 spacex's vision is much more immediate presenting the possibility of collaboration between the two entities to achieve this Monumental goal starship's role will become even more important as NASA faces many aggressive comp competitors while their own systems are showing numerous complications for more than a decade NASA's lunar systems have been famous for delays cost overruns and inefficiencies NASA's most expensive system is of course the SLS rocket to launch Artemis 1 NASA spent more than 11 billion us on this rocket and now they are likely spending the same amount or more to rush preparations for the mission next year this is not an exaggeration last year in a GAO report NASA had to admit that the SLS project was unaffordable with the current cost in return the quality of the SLS has consistently been called into question recent reports about The SLS 1B for aremis 4 have highlighted severe issues with both the core and upper stages built by Boeing mind you failing to meet NASA's and international quality standards these delays and failures have led to ballooning costs and NASA spending over 11 billion on the emis one launch alone the space agency now faces the Grim reality of potentially spending even more on future missions all while the SLS remains plagued by inefficiencies and performance doubts meanwhile the sls's companion Orion is also showing many problems after the Artemis 1 Mission the Orion heat shield was severely damaged in more than 100 spots after re-entry that puts NASA in a difficult situation change the heat shield design which could delay the schedule or keep the schedule but accept the risks from the current heat shield we are less than a year away from September of 2025 and NASA has not yet made a final decision on that besides the hardware the mobile launcher which is part of the exploration ground system also shows many problems in the GAO report the agency pointed out in our April of 2020 three highrisk report we found that NASA continues to face challenges with limiting cost growth and scheduled delays for its most complex and expensive projects including those for human space flights such as EGS after Artemis 1 the mobile launcher system also suffered damage taking a long time to fix and raising doubts about its long-term usability the report also emphasized in the section on RS 2 given the lack of margin if further issues arise during testing or integration there will likely be delays to the September 2025 emis 2 launch date and you may be surprised but NASA is even planning to use SLS and Orion to send humans to Mars by 2035 well you see NASA now finds itself facing a significant Challenge from International competitors especially China over the past decade China has rapidly expanded its Space Program with Milestones such as sending Rovers to the moon landing on the dark side of the lunar surface and successfully launching a Mars Rover China's long-term plans include building a permanent moon base which could directly rival NASA's arous Ambitions the race to the moon and Beyond is no longer a solo Endeavor for NASA it must contend with China's accelerating space advancements this makes the collaboration with SpaceX all the more critical as it ensures the US can stay ahead in this new space race clearly with the rapid progress of Starship the future of Landing humans on the Moon is still guaranteed SpaceX only needs a few years perhaps less than half the time budget of NASA to turn a desolate Wasteland at Boke chica into the world's most advanced rocket manufacturing and launch facility in that time they've gone from Hop testing to the feat of catching a rocket with the mechazilla arm the potential of Starship is huge as it can launch reach the moon and land even if SpaceX can successfully land the ship they can think about bringing Crews back without the SLS and Orion not only with Starship but with many other systems SpaceX has helped NASA a lot over the years spacex's contributions to NASA extend far beyond Starship over the years Vehicles like Falcon 9 and dragon have become NASA's workhorses for important missions the reusability of Falcon 9 has saved NASA billions in launch costs making it the most affordable and reliable option for frequent missions its ability to land and be reused multiple times has revolutionized space travel cutting down on exorbitant costs typically associated with rocket launches meanwhile Falcon heavy the most powerful operational rocket in the world enables NASA to execute high stakes missions like launching large payloads for deep space exploration these vehicles are vital for NASA's ongoing operations from weather satellite launches to lunar missions the partnership between NASA's Decades of mission planning expertise and spacex's technological innovations forms a powerful Synergy mission like crew dragons regular trips to the ISS and Falcon Heavy's role in launching high priority deep space payloads exemplify how the two organizations complement each other this collaboration ensures that the US remains at the Forefront of space exploration while minimizing costs and accelerating timelines moving forward NASA's support of SpaceX will be critical in achieving both lunar and Martian Ambitions well folks that's about it for today's episode thank you so much for tuning in and as always always this has been Kevin from great SpaceX until next time keep looking up