AmericaSpace

@nintendobenzo @Bair_Witness Since 2020 Artemis III has been targeted as a lunar landing mission. The southern NRHO trajectory work is well along. If it looks like neither Blue or SpX will have a lander in LEO, another spectacular lunar mission could be in the offing.

@Bair_Witness Artemis III won’t be launching if neither Blue nor Spacex are ready

Artemis III will launch before Starship makes orbit

If, and only if, NASA’s height range of 58.5 inches to 76 inches is a key xEVAS roadblock, and acknowledging that a lot of good people would be denied a lunar landing if a more restrictive xEVAS height requirement were in place, then the question for NASA and Congress becomes whether keeping the current xEVAS height range or winning the Moon race is more important. I was told that tightening the height range would greatly accelerate progress on the suit, but even more so ELCSS development.

@AmericaSpace Two of the four Artemis 2 crewmembers wouldn't have fit in those suits. Don't think that's gonna work, even disregarding the supply chain issues restarting production of something from half a century ago

People keep not believing me when I tell them that neither HLS, SLS, or Orion has been the main schedule problem for Artemis (2031 is overly optimistic for suits btw. The actual likely date is "never")

I was told KSC’s VAB High Bay 2 was chosen as SLS Core Stage final integration, including Engine Section, bc it allowed for 360° tip-to-tail access, speeding up final assembly. Michoud’s VAC is 170’ tall while the Core Stage is 212’. FYI, in 2024, VAB High Bay 2 was outfitted so that one Artemis Core Stage can be stacked/prepped while across the aisle another is being prepped too.

@EAshleyHowell To save time iirc

Ngl, I hope they start integrating the engine section at Michoud again. It looks so… unfinished :(

Apparently, even if Blue or SpaceX get a lunar lander ready pre-2030, a big if already, a lunar landing with a purpose-built xEVAS suit is, realistically, a coin toss at best. NASA’s “competition and redundancy” architecture that justified the acquisition strategy is dead. At least NASA isn’t wasting money on Collins…🤦‍♂️ oig.nasa.gov/wp-content/upl…

SpaceX’s suit is a pressure suit, like that worn by Mercury, Gemini, and later Shuttle astronauts. Pressure suit ≠ EVA suit. Check out Nicholas de Monchaux’s, “Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo” for more. One problem with NASA’s EVA suit strategy is the requirement to be wearable by something like 95-98% of people in reasonable fitness. And yes, in hindsight NASA should have simply updated the Apollo A7LB while deferring the one-suit fits all til later. 🤷‍♂️

SpaceX already has an EVA suit, what would it take to get something ready for the Moon?

Congratulations @NASA on a successful Artemis II mission and safe splashdown.

Congratulations @NASA on a successful Artemis II mission and safe splashdown.

Artemis II is screaming back to Earth, at about 3,250 km/s (about 7,300mph) and just under 64,000 km away.

Congratulations @nasa on a successful launch of Artemis II and our march back to the Moon.

@esaagar Try to enjoy what's being achieved today, something we haven't done since 1972, and the gorgeous images. There is little gained from achieving lunar orbit on this first crewed Artemis mission. Like the @NASA @NASAAdmin said, they are cramming a lot of goals in a single mission.

Is there a reason that Artemis II doesn't even attempt to get into lunar orbit and will be 4k miles from the surface? Apollo 8 in 1968 got within 60-70 miles

@ThePrimalDino You're right. As someone who serves at the pleasure of the President, Isaacman has not choice but to publicly support the PBR. Doing otherwise in any administration would be improper.

Let’s think critically about this for a moment. The guy who nominated him unceremoniously dropped him the moment he found out Jared was a former democrat, and then Isaacman had to claw his way back into the position. The same guy who nominated him also has a habit of firing his staff who are even slightly disloyal to him. (And sometimes loyalty doesn’t even matter if they don’t make him look good) Given that, and given that we know Isaacman is at least generally enthusiastic about our space program, it would probably be wiser to conclude that he’s playing politics rather than actually agreeing with the budget that the president has set.

@ApoStructura There's a small chance HLS may land on the Moon in two years, but there's an asymptotically zero chance it will be a Starship lunar lander making that journey.

Considering how much hype from the general public Artemis II is getting, I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like when SpaceX lands the skyscraper sized HLS on the Moon in a couple years.

Congratulations @nasa on a successful launch of Artemis II and our march back to the Moon.

The Artemis II mission is going to be a lot of fun to watch.

This is going to be epic to view the Artemis II launch in a VisionPro.

The first round of Artemis cameras are set inside the pad! Just a few more sites remain tomorrow. The energy is building at @NASAKennedy and this crew is ready for adventure! @Blackmagic_News

@NASA @NASAArtemis II Wet Dress Rehearsal saw the Artemis stack successfully fueled, no hydrogen leak issues as before, and in refill mode. Orion has been buttoned-up and the close-out crew has departed. Great test today! nasa.gov/blogs/missions…