Not as good as a cancellation of SLS, but it’s a redirection toward some semblance of programmatic sanity.
NASA just announced a MAJOR overhaul of the Artemis program. Here’s what’s changed, according to @NASAAdmin@rookisaacman:
NEW MISSIONS: Artemis 3 is no longer a moon landing 🤯 It's now a crewed test mission in Low Earth Orbit in 2027 – docking with SpaceX's Starship and/or…
And, of course, Boeing continues the lies: ” “The SLS core stage remains the world’s most powerful rocket stage, and the only one that can carry American astronauts directly to the moon and beyond in a single launch.”
Sorry for the light posting, I had to replace the graphics card in my computer, and it turned out to be a more onerous ordeal than I expected. Hopefully the desktop will be back on the air today. Carry on in comments.
After overnight data showed an interruption in helium flow in the SLS interim cryogenic propulsion stage, teams are troubleshooting and preparing for a likely rollback of Artemis II to the VAB at @NASAKennedy. This will almost assuredly impact the March launch window. @NASA will…
A thought experiment, to which I’ve gotten little response so far.
So, there's an argument going on in Space X (as opposed to SpaceX) about why we have to continue to waste money on SLS/Orion if we want to beat the Chinese back to the Moon. When I propose alternatives, I get objections like "Dragon can't come back from the Moon," "Nothing else…
I will just say we are leaning forward with transparency, sharing the blemishes and the successes, because for a program as costly and important to national security as Artemis, the public is entitled to the facts.
– The confidence test related to the seals we repaired and…
Who knew that liquid hydrogen could have leak issues?
Notice the subtle shade from Jared: ““With more than three years between SLS [Space Launch System] launches, we fully anticipated encountering challenges.”
The Artemis vision began with President Trump, but the SLS architecture and its components long predate his administration, with much of the heritage clearly traced back to the Shuttle era. As I stated during my hearings, and will say again, this is the fastest path to return… https://t.co/bu0SvThwS9
— NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman (@NASAAdmin) February 3, 2026
It’s not even the fastest path, but it is probably the one with lowest risk. We could get back to the Moon faster and at lower cost, but we’d have to accept more risk than NASA and Congress have demonstrated the ability to do.