Main Engine Cut OffNASA and the White House released a summary of the FY2020 budget amendment this week, alongside the new name: Project Artemis. I talk through some political fallout, what the future may hold, and the chaos elements that are Blue Moon and Starship.
The Moon 2024 initiative finally has a name, and it kicks ass—Artemis. However, there seems to be some mass cognitive dissonance surrounding all this that I can’t get my head around.
Letting the $8 billion number circulate for a few days makes asking for $4 billion seem more sane than it would have otherwise.
The Space Development Agency is up and running, and we have some details on what its first task will be. And this is all a really good example of why I’m supportive of Space Force as a wholly separate branch.
Eric Berger of Ars Technica joins me to talk about the latest in SLS Hot Drama: the 2020 budget request and a Bridenstine appearance in the Senate that might just go down in history. This week, NASA has proposed flying the three prime missions of SLS on commercial vehicles, setting the stage for an interesting few months of politics and engineering, and introducing some serious questions about the future of SLS.
Within the span of 3 days, NASA has officially, publicly stated that they want all previously-SLS-only flights flown on commercial vehicles. This is a massive shift, and as I said yesterday, one that will probably be rejected by Congress.
In the current era, White House budget requests often don’t matter much in the outcome of NASA’s budget, but they do speak volumes about the administration’s intentions.
Read the entire article by Foust, and you’ll likely be struck with the same feelings I have: appreciation that NASA has to figure out how to make an exploration program out of what fits in the budget, and the utter disbelief that a piecemeal effort as disjointed and dysfunctional as this is something anyone can believe in.
Tanya Harrison joins Jake and I to discuss the James Webb Space Telescope delays, planetary missions and their ability to stay under budget and on time, and the benefits and drawbacks of decadal surveys.
Large federal funding of a Boeing-built system which the private sector says is unnecessary because they can provide the government with more services for less money. Sounds familiar.