Latest estimate for Starship launches required to support a Moon landing? 22.
"We need to keep our eyes on numerous required fuelings for the lander.".
"We need to keep our eyes on numerous required fuelings for the lander."
The short version
- “We need to keep our eyes on numerous required fuelings for the lander.” NASA does not have, nor want, nuclear weapons.
- But when it comes to a particular metric that is part of the Artemis Program to land people on the Moon, NASA guards a particular number like they are trying to prevent outsiders from cracking nuclear codes.
- I am speaking of the number of Starship launches required to fuel a Starship-based lunar lander in low-Earth orbit such that it can fly out to the Moon, land there, and return to lunar orbit.
What happened
This number has been a moving target over the years. SpaceX would need to launch a “depot” Starship, and then 11 “tanker” Starships to fully load it with liquid oxygen and methane propellant for a lunar voyage.
Why it matters
Other officials have said “high teens.” The hope has always been that SpaceX would dramatically improve the lift capacity of Starship to bring down the number of tanker flights.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at Ars Technica via the links above and below.