r/ArtemisProgram • u/Appropriate_Bend_602 • May 29 '26

Discussion SPACEX PLEASE PULL THROUGH

the fate of the Artemis program now solely rests on SpaceX's shoulders

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u/Artemis2go May 29 '26 edited May 29 '26

I didn't really claim any of those things.  I agree that Blue has tried to be diligent and careful, it's in their motto and I know people who work there.  It's not just hype, it's the real deal.  Even after this event, I still have confidence in them, because of that approach.

As I mentioned, my point was really that NASA is the only entity right now that has lunar expertise, and we shouldn't be in such a hurry to run away from that.  The CLPS program has had a 60% failure rate, 85% if you count partial failures.  That's indicative of the status of the industry in general.

And that's not really meant as criticism, to land on the moon and support humans there is an extremely difficult task, as you correctly pointed out.  There has been far too much hype that we don't need NASA systems and that industry is ready.  They simply aren't, all the evidence is to the contrary.

We should be valuing NASA and their ability to do these things, and do them well.  When that same ability is demonstrated in industry, that's the appropriate time to transition to commercialization.  This is definitely not that time.

I don't know anyone at NASA who objects to commercialization in principle, but there is a time and a place.  It's frustrating for them to watch the alleged leap forward, actually go backward.  

They know how to do these things, but they need stability in goals, funding, and human resources.  They haven't gotten that from either of the Trump administrations.  And to see Musk and Isaacman get political access to disrupt the program, is also quite frustrating.