Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy has announced plans to consider opening up the Human Landing System (HLS) contract currently held by SpaceX for the Artemis 3 mission. This decision comes in light of SpaceX's alleged delays in meeting its development timeline.

Speaking on CNBC and Fox News on October 20th, Duffy stated that NASA would allow other companies to compete to land astronauts on the moon for Artemis 3. The mission was originally assigned to SpaceX's Starship under the HLS contract awarded in 2021.

“SpaceX had the contract for Artemis 3,” Duffy said on CNBC. “The problem is they’re behind. They push their timelines out, and we’re in a race against China. The president and I want to get to the moon in this president’s term.” He continued, “So, I’m going to open up the contract. I’m going to let other space companies compete with SpaceX, like Blue Origin, and again, whatever one can get us there first, to the moon, we’re going to take.”

He reiterated this sentiment on Fox News, emphasizing SpaceX’s capabilities while acknowledging the delays: “SpaceX has the contract. SpaceX is an amazing company. They do remarkable things, but they’re behind schedule,” he said. “So, I’m in the process of opening that contract up.” Duffy also stated that “We’re going to have a space race in regard to American companies competing to see who can actually get us back to the moon first.”

While Duffy did not elaborate on the mechanics or funding of this potential "space race," Bethany Stevens, NASA’s press secretary, provided transcripts of Duffy’s television appearances. A later statement from Stevens mentioned that “NASA’s Human Landing System program has given both SpaceX and Blue Origin the opportunity to present acceleration approaches by Oct. 29,” and that “NASA is also going to request plans from the entire commercial space industry – through an RFI – for how NASA can increase the cadence of our mission to the moon.”

These comments mark the first public acknowledgment from NASA that the HLS version of Starship is behind schedule. Previously, Duffy had maintained the agency's 2027 target launch date for Artemis 3, despite earlier Starship test flight failures. In July, Duffy recounted assurances from SpaceX executives, including company president Gwynne Shotwell, that Starship would be ready. “They feel very comfortable on Starship. They feel like they’re on pace for the lander,” he said then. “They said if there’s a holdup for Artemis 3, it’s not going to be them.”

Duffy's recent statements also indicate a shift from his previous stance. After former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine expressed doubts about beating China to the moon, Duffy had asserted, “We are going to beat the Chinese to the moon. We are going to make sure that we do this safely. We’re going to do it fast. We’re going to do it right,” without suggesting changes to the Artemis 3 approach. During his Oct. 20th interviews, Duffy conceded that Artemis 3 would likely not launch in 2027.

Blue Origin, already possessing a separate HLS award for its Blue Moon Mark 2 lander for Artemis 5 missions, is a potential contender. Lockheed Martin is also exploring lunar lander concepts. Bob Behnken, vice president of exploration and technology strategy at Lockheed Martin Space, stated, “Throughout this year, Lockheed Martin has been performing significant technical and programmatic analysis for human lunar landers that would provide options to NASA for a safe solution to return humans to the moon as quickly as possible,” he said. “We have been working with a cross-industry team of companies, and together we are looking forward to addressing Secretary Duffy’s request to meet our country’s lunar objectives,” he said.

Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, seemed unfazed by the prospect of competition. “They won’t,” he responded on social media to a comment questioning the likelihood of another company having a lander ready before Starship. He further added, “SpaceX is moving like lightning compared to the rest of the space industry,” and “Moreover, Starship will end up doing the whole moon mission. Mark my words.”