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NASA chief suggests SpaceX may be booted from moon mission

(www.cnn.com)
404 points voxleone | 8 comments | 21 Oct 25 12:58 UTC | HN request time: 0.726s | source | bottom
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radu_floricica ◴[21 Oct 25 13:53 UTC] No.45655837[source]▶
I'm not really sure if keeping a strict schedule has any real relevance here, outside maybe PR and politics. Starships will drop the cost to other bodies in the same way Falcon dropped the cost to orbit. Why would anyone want to invest in a technology and a project that will be obsolete by the time it's implemented?
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1. JumpCrisscross ◴[21 Oct 25 13:55 UTC] No.45655867[source]▶
> not really sure if keeping a strict schedule has any real relevance here

You don't see the relevance of Artemis III launching in mid-2027 [1] or 2028 versus, say, after November 2028?

[1] https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-iii/

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2. cowsandmilk ◴[21 Oct 25 14:01 UTC] No.45655925[source]▶
Does anyone vote for a president based on their ability to land on the moon?
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3. Waterluvian ◴[21 Oct 25 14:06 UTC] No.45655986[source]▶
Holy crap yes. Millions of Americans vote for a president based on exceedingly dumber reasons too.
4. ACCount37 ◴[21 Oct 25 14:13 UTC] No.45656076[source]▶
I don't see any real possibility of Artemis 3 launching before 2030, frankly. That "mid-2027" timeline is a joke said with a straight face.

There are enough contractors involved and enough delay potential on the table that getting all the ducks in the row in time for the 2027 date would require nothing short of divine intervention.

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5. Cthulhu_ ◴[21 Oct 25 14:14 UTC] No.45656087[source]▶
Probably; the moon landings had the US' popularity skyrocket, firmly landing them in every history book worldwide. If they lose this second space race to China it won't undo that achievement, but it'll be embarrassing to the ego-driven people at the top right now (notably Trump and Musk himself).
6. radu_floricica ◴[21 Oct 25 14:15 UTC] No.45656100[source]▶
I do, which is why I specifically said:

> outside maybe PR and politics

It's still a bad idea, objectively.

7. dotnet00 ◴[21 Oct 25 14:16 UTC] No.45656125[source]▶
Recently I saw someone claiming they voted for Trump because he hugged a flag once, and plenty of Americans proudly claim they voted for Trump so that he would "troll" their opposition.
8. JumpCrisscross ◴[21 Oct 25 18:01 UTC] No.45659216[source]▶
> enough contractors involved and enough delay potential on the table that getting all the ducks in the row in time for the 2027 date would require nothing short of divine intervention

Or a fuckton of money for an administration priority.