Audit Report: Questions about the Human Landing System

Posted on by onespaceman2000

Auditors with NASA’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) evaluated three aspects of the Human Landing System (HLS) to be used with the Artemis Moon landing: (1) the extent to which the HLS providers are meeting cost, schedule, and performance goals; (2) the HLS Program’s implementation of the insight/oversight model; and (3) the Program’s identification and mitigation of risks to astronaut safety.

In its report, NASA’s Management of the Human Landing System Contracts, the auditors found issues in all three areas. In particular, the report stated:

…both SpaceX and Blue Origin have experienced schedule delays and face technical and integration challenges that have the potential to further impact lander costs and delivery schedules. In particular, SpaceX’s lander will not be ready for a June 2027 lunar landing.

It is possible that the draft version of this audit report was already the desk of NASA Administrator Isaacman right before he decided to move the Moon landing date again. Pending audit reports have a tendency to stir action.

Yet, even once we get to the moon, the auditors identified some safety issues. Specifically, the auditors stated:

We also observed limitations in the Agency’s approach to crew survival analyses—the evaluation of available crew survival capabilities to counter a catastrophic event—due to functional constraints and the availability of resources…While NASA is taking steps to prevent catastrophic events from occurring, ultimately, should the astronauts encounter a life-threatening emergency in space or on the lunar surface, NASA does not have the capability to rescue the stranded crew.

None of this is too surprising with a new approach like this one. Delays are inevitable, and even the best of plans cannot account for everything, as Apollo 13 demonstrated. It also shows that NASA has a tough balancing act, with the need for speed weighed against the mechanisms to ensure the safety of the astronauts.

One of the safety concerns stated later in the report really should have been its own report. It discussed the height of the HLS. As shown in the image above, the Starship Lander is huge compared to the Apollo lander and even Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Lander. Here are the dimensions per the report:

Landers may also encounter hazards such as boulders or mounds that are too large or depressions that are too deep for the landing legs and stability design. For example, steep slopes of up to 20 degrees on the lunar South Pole present navigation and landing challenges. Given Starship’s height of 171 feet— about the equivalent of a 14-story tall commercial building—there is a risk that its momentum will continue after landing causing it to tip over. Blue Moon—standing at 53 feet tall—also faces landing risks, including exceeding the lander’s tilt tolerance for safe and effective execution of critical crew functions. Surpassing the tilt tolerance for either lander, which NASA established as not to exceed 8 degrees to support all post-landing crew activities, could impact the operation of equipment such as the hatch used by the crew to exit and enter the vehicle. By comparison, the Apollo Lunar Module stood 23 feet tall.

This is scary given the multiple spacecraft we have already witness toppling over onto the lunar surface just last year. Why would we ever want to land a 14-story tall rocket with an elevator on the Moon as our first attempt after 50 years? I can understand Elon Musk proposing this ridiculous idea, but it is not clear how the original planners could have gone along with it. This is a “catastrophic event” waiting to happen.

The auditors also added a Apollo 15 Lunar Module story (shown below) to the report. After reading this report and the Apollo 15 clip, I think I will also have trouble sleeping tonight due to an uncomfortable feeling that the current Artemis approach was a mess (if not doomed) from the start.

Space Stories: DART Did Its Diversionary Duty, A New Moon Crater, and A New Private Space Telescope

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The collision of DART with Dimorphos, as captured by the Italian Space Agency’s LICIACube. The larger asteroid above is Didymos. (ASI/NASA)

Here are some recent space-related stories of interest.

—Nautilus: “NASA’s DART Mission Offers Proof of Protection Against Asteroid Impacts“

In November 2021, NASA launched the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) aimed at finding out whether or not we could redirect the trajectory of a near-Earth object simply by crashing into it…The mission was a success, making it the first time a human-made object has altered a celestial body’s path around the sun, but it would take more time to find out the magnitude of the success. Now, two years later, NASA scientists have calculated that DART’s collision with Dimorphos shortened the orbit of both asteroids by around 33 minutes.

—SciTechDaily: “The Moon Was Hit Again: NASA Scientists Discover a Newly Formed Crater“

Researchers working with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera found one such crater by comparing detailed photographs of the same lunar locations taken at different times. By examining images captured before December 2009 and others taken after December 2012, they were able to narrow down when the impact occurred, even though no one actually observed the collision. The crater measures 22 meters in diameter, comparable to a large house. What makes it particularly striking is not its size but its brightness. The collision ejected material tens of meters from the crater rim, creating distinctive rays that spread outward in a sunburst pattern. This bright, fresh material contrasts sharply with the surrounding darker regolith, making the crater stand out like a new freckle on familiar skin.

—Daily Galaxy: “In a First, Private Investors Will Fund a Telescope Bigger Than Hubble for $500 Million“

A new private space observatory, the Lazuli Space Telescope, is on track to surpass Hubble with its larger mirror and cutting-edge technology. Funded by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and his wife Wendy, the project is already turning heads in the space community…At its core, Lazuli’s three-meter mirror will make it one of the largest space telescopes ever built, capable of observing both optical and infrared light.

Senator Cruz Has Big Ambitions for NASA

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): A artist’s rendering of Nanoracks, Voyager Space, and Lockheed Martin’s Starlab commercial space station. (Nanoracks/Lockheed Martin/Voyager Space)

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, earlier today highlighted some of the sections in the NASA Authorization Act of 2026 designed to counter Chinese ambitions on the Moon while also keeping the US in the forefront of space stations.

In a Committee press release, he stated:

Let me touch on a few highlights of the NASA Authorization Act.  The bill— 

  • Directs NASA to create a permanent “moon base” so we can get there before the Chinese; 
  • Keeps American astronauts in space, extending the ISS through 2032 and requiring the launch of two independent commercial space stations before the ISS can be retired; 
  • Protects against disclosure of NASA tech secrets to Chinese spies; and 
  • Restores fiscal discipline while modernizing NASA’s workforce through public-private partnerships. 

This all sounds good, but first we need to successfully get to the Moon before worrying about permanent versus temporary Moon bases. I would rather we focus just getting a manned spacecraft back on the Moon after more than 50 years. The more burdens we place on these initial missions, the less likely we will have the chance to land on the Moon.

Mr. Musk’s complex dance with multiple Starships was designed to handle a spacecraft with four astronauts and a complex lunar habitat. A simpler mission just to replant the flag may have made more sense if the latest Space Race is about being the first to get back on the lunar surface. And if a Moon base is really a national priority, we should be able to find the funds do to both – a quick, basic mission to put boots on the lunar surface and a more complex mission supporting a Moon base. However, last year’s proposed budget cuts indicated the White House doesn’t know what it wants.

In terms of a space station, the idea of getting more years out of the enormous investment in the International Space Station makes perfect sense. That said, requiring long-term investment from the commercial sector for space stations seems presumptuous. While NASA can support the design of future stations, it cannot ensure their construction and viability. Besides, it is not clear we have enough research, both government and commercial, to support one space station. Do we really need two? And should that be NASA’s decision?

I believe the private sector can decide on the need for space stations all by itself, and so far it has not shown enough interest in this area. The government is good at big things, while the private sector has very specific profit-driven interests when it comes to space missions, like anything else. So far, the commercial funding seems to be drifting towards orbiting data centers and even space tourism. Is this what Senator Cruz envisions?

We may need to simplify our milestones if we are trying to beat the Chinese and maintain our presence in space. Big ideas need to be supported with big budgets and/or clear private sector benefits. With the current administration starting costly wars around the world while also sending mixed signals to the private sector via excessive tariffs and various crony-capitalist actions, we will be lucky to keep the lights on at NASA.

Podcast: Jerod Isaacman Speaks with Ross Douthat

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and New York Times columnist Ross Douthat speaking on the Interesting Times program. (New York Times)

New York Times columnist Ross Douthat sat down with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman recently to discuss the future of NASA and more. You can listen to the interview, titled ‘The New Space Race,” via the New York Times‘ Interesting Times podcast or watch it on YouTube.

I was a little skeptical about what I would learn from NASA’s new administrator, a billionaire space tourist until recently, but Jared Isaacman was well spoken during the interview. He seemed both candid with his answers as well as well comfortable with everything Ross tossed his way. His only stumble in my opinion was when he was trying to cover for the proposed draconian cuts to NASA by the White House in 2025. Fortunately, Congress saved the agency and his butt, though you would not know that from his answer.

I particularly liked his openness about his own space travels as well as the return mission to the Moon. In terms of himself, he compared his own gravity-free experience in space as the equivalent of being an upside down chipmunk. He also did not appear overwhelmed by his privileged view of the Earth from low Earth orbit. He said the high-definition images from the International Space Station (ISS) over the years has given everyone a great view of the Earth.

As far as establishing an early settlement on the Moon, he did not try to oversell it. He stated:

For the first maybe, I don’t know, 10 years, it’s going to look like a pretty cool futuristic junkyard with lots of landers and rovers around.

Mr. Isaacman also restated his critique of NASA’s handing of the Boeing Starliner mission to the ISS, did not exaggerate the profits to be made in space at the moment, expressed his opinions on intelligent life elsewhere as well as the public’s interest in UFOs, and stated he expected a manned mission to land on Mars within about 10 years.

Check it out for yourself if you want to learn a little more about the man running NASA. The interview runs for about an hour.

Space Stories: Rubin Observatory Data Alerts, Upcoming Total Lunar Eclipse, and Exoplanet Astronomer Murdered

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The Rubin Observatory. (Rubin Obs./NSF/AURA)

Here are some recent space-related stories of interest.

—GeekWire: “Rubin Observatory Sends Out Thousands of Data Alerts with an Assist from Seattle Astronomers“

An astronomical alert system developed at the University of Washington started off with a bang this week, sending out 800,000 notifications about moving asteroids, exploding stars and other celestial changes detected by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile. Tuesday night’s surge was just the first wave of alerts. Eventually, the Alert Production Pipeline is expected to produce up to 7 million alerts per night. Astronomers around the globe will use the system to sift through the torrent of data, zeroing in on events ranging from newly detected asteroids to supernovas, variable stars and active galactic nuclei.

—Sky&Telescope: “Get Ready for the March 3, 2026, Predawn Total Lunar Eclipse“

On Tuesday, March 3rd, the full Moon glides through the darkest portion of Earth’s shadow, called the umbra, to create a dramatic total lunar eclipse. In the Western Hemisphere, the event occurs in the hours before dawn, while across Asia it happens during the evening. During the eclipse, Earth’s shadow is seen gradually edging across the face of the full Moon until the entire lunar disk glows deep orange or red. Then the sequence of events unfolds in reverse order, until the shadow leaves the lunar disk completely and the Moon returns to full brilliance.

—Futurism: “Astronomer Who Discovered Water on Distant Planet Murdered Outside Home“

A renowned Caltech astronomer who studied distant exoplanets was shot and killed outside his home in a rural area near Los Angeles, the LA Times reported…Among his most notable contributions to the field was leading research published in 2007 that, for the first time, captured enough light from distant exoplanets to identify the molecules in their atmospheres…and soon made the “monumental” discovery of detecting signs of water on another planet.