SpaceX Starship HLS: Why is NASA going to the Moon in a Starship?
In 2025, a SpaceX variation of the Starship will return humans to the moon.
Saturday, November 20, 2021 | Chimniii Desk
Key Highlights
- NASA's Artemis mission, which is far more than a revival of the Apollo programme, aims to return humans to the lunar surface by 2025.
- NASA has yet to award an HLS contract for Artemis IV and beyond, so Blue Origin or other companies might yet get a chance to carry astronauts back to the Moon — but they won't get there first.
- Blue Origin's lawsuit against NASA was dismissed on November 4, reviving Starship HLS — but not on schedule.
- When it comes to mission operations, the Starship HLS will launch into low-Earth orbit, where it will dock with another Starship version, this time a gasoline tanker, in order to replenish the fuel it will need for its journey to the Moon.
- Unlike Orion, which has a capacity of four crew members, SpaceX promises that Starship will be able to carry up to 100 people into space.
Advertisement
THE MOON COMES PRIOR TO THE STARS AND MARS. That is the current state of affairs for both space agencies and commercial space businesses.
NASA's Artemis mission, which is far more than a revival of the Apollo programme, aims to return humans to the lunar surface by 2025. Astronauts will spend weeks on the lunar surface, eventually establishing a Moon base, and gaining experience with the technology and operations required to land humans on Mars one day.
NASA already has a new, powerful Moon-shot rocket, the SLS, and a new spacecraft, the Orion space capsule, which is significantly more sophisticated than Apollo.
However, the space agency awarded a contract to SpaceX in April to build the Human Landing System vehicle, which will transport men from lunar orbit to the Moon's surface and back.
SpaceX has resumed development of an HLS variation of its Starship rocket and spaceship following a delay caused by legal disputes by SpaceX rival Blue Origin.
When American astronauts return to the Moon in Artemis III, they will do so in a distinctly retro-looking Starship, like a silvery rocket from the cover of 1950s pulp science fiction novels, but pointing upward into the future.
WHAT IS ARTEMIS HUMAN LANDING SYSTEM (HLS)?
The Artemis HLS is the modern version of the Lunar Excursion Module, or LEM, used in the Apollo programme.
Advertisement
NASA's Orion spacecraft will transport the Artemis III astronauts to lunar orbit, but unlike the Apollo command module, Orion will never touch the Moon. Rather than that, Orion will dock with NASA's Gateway - a modest space station intended for lunar orbit.
After transferring to the Starship HLS, the Artemis astronauts will descend to the Moon's surface in the SpaceX vehicle, which will serve as their base of operations for six days.
At the conclusion of their mission, the Starship HLS will return the astronauts to orbit and the Gateway, from whence they will board Orion for their return to Earth.
WHO WON THE CONTRACT WITH HLS?
In April, NASA awarded a $2.89 billion contract to SpaceX to develop an HLS for Artemis, choosing the SpaceX proposal over bids by competitors Blue Origin and Dynetics.
NASA stated in a source selection document that cost was a primary consideration in its decision. The space agency desired to contract with two businesses but could only afford one, and SpaceX's offer was far and away the lowest of the three.
NASA has yet to award an HLS contract for Artemis IV and beyond, so Blue Origin or other companies might yet get a chance to carry astronauts back to the Moon — but they won’t get there first.
THE HLS AND THE BLUE ORIGIN LAWSUIT
Blue Origin and Dynetics did not take the loss to SpaceX well and filed a joint protest with the Government Accountability Office, putting any SpaceX work on a Starship HLS on hold pending the outcome.
In July, the GAO decided in favour of NASA and SpaceX, but Blue Origin refused to relinquish control, organising a social media campaign condemning SpaceX and NASA for awarding the HLS contract to SpaceX.
Then, in August, Blue Origin sued NASA, putting the development of Starship HLS on hold once more.
Blue Origin's lawsuit against NASA was dismissed on November 4, reviving Starship HLS — but not on schedule.
On November 9, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said that the Artemis III mission, initially scheduled for October 2024, will launch no sooner than 2025, blaming, in part, the “nearly seven months” lost in the litigation over the SpaceX contract.
Advertisement
Concept art of the SpaceX HLS on the Moon. SpaceX
What is the Starship HLS Design, and how does it work?
source: nasa
There is no significant overhaul with the Starship HLS version; it is simply that — a variant. The primary Starship spaceship, on the other hand, has already undergone considerable modifications, according to SpaceX.
SpaceX will forego the traditional aerodynamic fins and thermal shielding for the Starship HLS variant because it will not be returning to Earth for a landing once it has been launched into space.
As well as broad landing legs for landing on the rocky lunar surface, the Starship HLS will be equipped with some type of elevator for raising and lowering astronauts and materials up and down the spacecraft's 164-foot height.
When it comes to mission operations, the Starship HLS will launch into low-Earth orbit, where it will dock with another Starship version, this time a gasoline tanker, in order to replenish the fuel it will need for its journey to the Moon.
The tanker variant of the Starship is still in the early stages of development. A Starship HLS mission to the Moon will require as many as 10 additional Starship launches to fully fuel the vehicle, an operational complication that Blue Origin notably attacked in their social media campaign against the SpaceX HLS contract.
WHEN IT COMES TO STRENGTH, WILL STARSHIP OUTPERFORM SLS?
NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) is a massive, powerful rocket meant to carry NASA missions to the Moon and beyond — that is, according to the NASA Authorization Act of 2010, the Congressional mandate for the launch system.
The Space Launch System (SLS) will generate more than eight million pounds of thrust and send more than 95 tonnes of mass into orbit thanks to its two solid-fuel boosters and four main stage RS-25 rocket engines that will burn liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.
It is a historically huge rocket, outperforming the Saturn V of the Apollo era, which generated a little more than 7.5 million pounds of thrust at liftoff and was the largest rocket ever launched.
Advertisement
However, if everything goes according to plan, the Starship launch vehicle will roughly double the SLS's power during liftoff. The Super Heavy Booster, which is made up of 33 Raptor rocket engines, will generate 12 million pounds of thrust and will be launched from Cape Canaveral. Designed to serve as a second stage, the Starship spaceship, in conjunction with the Super Heavy, will be capable of lifting more than 100 tonnes of mass into orbit.
Advertisement
But, aside from its raw power, Starship has a greater cargo and crew capacity than both the SLS and the Orion. Unlike Orion, which has a capacity of four crew members, SpaceX promises that Starship will be able to carry up to 100 people into space.
Astralytical CEO Laura Seward Forczyk previously told Inverse that Starship could theoretically launch NASA astronauts, transport them to the Moon, land on the Moon, and return them to Earth all with a single spacecraft, rather than using the SLS, Orion, and Gateway now in use. It's feasible that SLS will eventually be phased out in favour of the more powerful and efficient Starship in the near future.
WHEN WILL THE STARSHIP MAKE ITS DEBUT?
So far, no version of Starship has been successfully launched into orbit, which is a somewhat essential test for the entire project. The first orbital test flight for Starship and the Super Heavy rocket combination is scheduled for March 2022, according to SpaceX.
Advertisement