SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said,I recently boastedhe will land 5 unmanned landersstarshipIf all of those landing attempts are successful, it intends to continue with the first manned mission to Mars by 2028.
former president donald trump supported the planand urged Mr. Musk to get people to Mars before the end of his planned second term. Why not? The sight of humanity walking on the Red Planet would be the extraordinary culmination of one of the most unusual and controversial political careers in history.
Before SpaceX can land anything on Mars, it needs to resolve two issues: one technical and one bureaucratic.
Starship will need to prove several capabilities before Musk can send it to Mars. It must launch, enter orbit, and make a soft landing on Earth. It also needs to be refueled in low Earth orbit before being sent into deep space. And a rocket ship can only prove these capabilities through repeated test flights.
Incidentally, SpaceX is contractually obligated to provide a lunar lander version of Starship. NASA's plan isArtemis IIIThe mission is to transport astronauts from the Orion spacecraft to the Spacecraft Manned Landing System in lunar orbit and back to and from the lunar surface. Before sending humans to the moon, SpaceX is planning a trip to the moon with an unmanned version of Starship.
NASA hopes the Artemis III mission will materialize in 2026. In the same year, Musk wants to send a flotilla of spacecraft to Mars.
All starship deep space missions, whether to the moon or mars, require multiple fuel tanker starships to fill up their tanks before proceeding. To satisfy both Mr. Musk and Mr. Trump's Mars ambitions and NASA's mission to the Moon, SpaceX will need to launch and land many spacecraft by 2026.
The idea that SpaceX could develop Starship into a working vehicle by 2026 seems ambitious. But all things being equal, the company should be able to accomplish that feat over a longer period of time.
However, all is not equal when it comes to Starship development. SpaceX has run into problems with government bureaucracy that have significantly delayed the development of its super rocket.
The Federal Aviation Administration is the primary government agency responsible for regulating space launches such as the Starship test flight. Incurred the wrath of Mr. Musk. The agency not only imposed fines for violations during two test flights in 2023, but also postponed the fifth flight of SpaceX's superrocket until November at the earliest. Musk claims Starship has been ready for departure since August. The FAA says the delay is for “safety reasons.”
Mr. Musk is having none of that. He sent a letter to Congress objecting to the fine and calling it frivolous. He announced his intention to sue the FAA for what he called “regulatory overreach.” SpaceX's CEO has asked FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker to resign.
Clearly something is wrong. Has the FAA suddenly developed a case of sclerosis when it comes to overseeing SpaceX's Starship testing regime? Or is something dark going on?
Last year, Liz Peek pointed out that the Biden administration had declared all-out war on Musk, outraged that he had turned social network X, formerly known as Twitter, into a free speech zone. . Against this backdrop, the idea that the White House is slowing Starship's development is not beyond the bounds of plausibility.
If Biden has a soft spot for Musk, he will seek revenge even at the risk of US national security. Every time America's next moon landing is delayed, the nightmarish possibility increases that China, which plans its own moonwalk by 2030, will beat America back to the moon. The irresponsibility is breathtaking.
Congress should intervene, certainly. However, Greg Autry, author of “the red moon rises” Brett Mecum has a simple solution. Elect Trump to a second term so Musk has an ally, not an enemy, in the White House.
If Trump becomes president for the second time, will Americans end up on both the moon and Mars by the end of his term? perhaps. Probably not. However, with the return of the creator of Project Artemis to power, that possibility has become much more likely.
Mark R. Whittington writes,Why is it so difficult to return to the moon?” Similarly “To the moon, Mars and beyond”, and more recently”Why will America return to the moon?” He blogs at:Karma John's Corner.
