SpaceX is reportedly working on a "simplified" architecture for lunar landings, amidst growing scrutiny regarding its progress on the Starship lander for the Artemis program. The company announced on October 30th that it has devised a novel approach to transport astronauts to the lunar surface more rapidly than initially planned for Artemis 3, without revealing specifics.
"In response to the latest calls, we’ve shared and are formally assessing a simplified mission architecture and concept of operations that we believe will result in a faster return to the moon while simultaneously improving crew safety," the company stated.
SpaceX has faced criticism from current and former NASA officials, including acting administrator Sean Duffy, for delays in developing its Starship version for NASA’s Human Landing System (HLS) program. On October 20th, Duffy mentioned plans to "open up" the contract awarded to SpaceX in 2021 for the Artemis 3 lander. Subsequently, NASA requested that SpaceX and Blue Origin, which holds a separate HLS contract for Artemis 5, submit "acceleration approaches" for their lunar landers by October 29th.
During an October 29th conference, former NASA administrators Charlie Bolden and Jim Bridenstine voiced skepticism about the existing Starship-based architecture's ability to facilitate a NASA astronaut landing on the moon before China's projected first crewed lunar mission in 2030. Bridenstine, now a lobbyist for space companies, suggested considering a rapid program to construct a new lander, potentially utilizing authorities like the Defense Production Act.
While SpaceX has not detailed the alternative architecture, it remains unclear whether changes will affect Starship or other Artemis components, like Orion or the Space Launch System rocket. The company defended its current strategy as the optimal way to return Americans to the lunar surface. "Starship continues to simultaneously be the fastest path to returning humans to the surface of the moon and a core enabler of the Artemis program’s goal to establish a permanent, sustainable presence on the lunar surface," SpaceX affirmed.
The company highlighted that it has achieved 49 milestones under its HLS contract, encompassing advancements in lander subsystems, such as landing legs, docking adapters, and Raptor engine evaluations. SpaceX reported that the "vast majority" of these milestones were achieved on or ahead of schedule. However, the overall lander development is behind previously published schedules. Earlier this year, NASA officials anticipated that SpaceX would demonstrate the transfer of liquid oxygen and methane propellants between Starships in low Earth orbit. This is critical for Starship HLS missions, which require multiple "tanker" Starship launches to replenish a depot Starship in orbit, ultimately fueling the lander version of Starship.
"We were anticipating that would be completed by this year. Clearly, that is slipping," stated Lori Glaze, NASA’s acting associate administrator for exploration systems development, at a National Academies’ Space Studies Board meeting in July.
"The next major flight milestones tied specifically to HLS will be a long-duration flight test and the in-space propellant transfer flight test," SpaceX communicated. These tests involve orbiting a Starship for an "extended time" to validate systems, followed by a second Starship docking to facilitate propellant transfer. "The exact timing will be driven by how upcoming flight tests debuting the new Starship V3 architecture progress, but both of these tests are targeted to take place in 2026," the company concluded.