This is why I think that the notion of missions to Mars under the Apollo paradigm are fanciful. There’s a reason (well, OK, more than one) that Elon is building Starship so large. He wants to make it like a cruise, not solitary confinement.
I’m not being funded for it this year, but I’m wondering who would like to contribute to keeping it going, if I do a Kickstarter? I’d need about twenty grand, much of it for required travel (including, potentially, Dubai for IAC in the fall). It would be to promote the ideas in my IAC paper from last fall.
[Thursday-morning update]
OK, to brainstorm a little bit, if I do a Kickstarter (as opposed to a GoFundMe or something else), any suggestions for rewards? Maybe a signed copy of the multilateral agreement(s)?
A lot of Artemis fans on Twitter were cheering for the budget proposal of seventy billion dollars over five years to get back to the moon. Even ignoring how ridiculous that number is, I had to remind them of something.
A budget request is not a budget. A budget request is not a budget. A budget request is not a budget. A budget request is not a budget. A budget request is not a budget. A budget request is not a budget. A budget request is not a budget. A budget request is not a budget. https://t.co/IYSLGKqKWd
It continues to look worse and worse for Boeing. I’m almost starting to wonder if it will ever fly. SpaceX can do the job for less money, and it may not be that long before either Dreamchaser or Starship is flying (though it’s not clear that the latter will be capable of docking with the ISS).