NASA Space Launch System (SLS)

[publiusr]

This is why I mentioned SLS extant cores being used for (more strongly built) ice giant probes...a Pluto orbiter.. interstellar precursor.

Super-probes are as infrequent as SLS cores--thus a perfect match. Titan III and IV launches were expensive and rare--but they gave us Voyagers and Cassini. Let SLS go out with dignity.

You know what is a bigger waste than a rocket that is thrown away after a single flight?

Throwing an expendable away before it flies.

Even Paul Allen's sister let the workers see their craft aloft...even though Roc's survival looked bleak at the time...workers need meaning to their lives as much as any paycheck...

Instead of killing SLS to save Artemis just to repeat Apollo 8--I want the opposite... maybe an NTR for the very last SLS being the Interstellar probe.

Let's support outer planet probes--and leave manned spaceflight to Elon and China.

More

Trump wants billions cut from NASA, including ‘grossly expensive’ Huntsville rocket

White House budget request would take $879 million from 'legacy' spaceflight projects like the Space Launch System.

www.al.com

Mythical SpaceX savings:

SpaceX's market dominance has failed to save NASA money

SpaceX has been the go-to launcher for both commercial and government satellites for a few years running now. Their Silicon...

spaceexplored.com

 

[NMaude]

Phillip Sloss has uploaded a video about the informal nomination of Jared Isaacman to head NASA and how it may effect the SLS and Artemis programmes:

NASA's Orion heatshield investigation concluded on December 5th, and the space agency announced in a press conference that they accepted the recommendation to fly the Artemis II Orion heatshield as-is. The launch was pushed back to April 2026 for other reasons and Artemis III was delayed until mid-2027; however, President Trump nominated Jared Isaacman to be the next NASA Administrator, which continues the narrative that an Artemis shake-up could be coming in January.

There were a lot of details in the press conference about the status of Artemis II preparations and planning for the next milestones stacking the SLS vehicle for that, but not so much on Artemis III, which depends on not just Orion and SLS, but also Starship HLS and Axiom Space lunar surface spacesuits. The commercial providers are developing private products with proprietary technology, so NASA leadership can't speak for them. The outlook for the public and private programs participating in Artemis III will remain a storyline for future videos.

That is, if the plans for Artemis II and III are continued next year. There are a few takeaways in this video from the early nomination, and the obvious implication of orphaning Orion if SLS is cancelled by Isaacman and Elon Musk next year. Orion is still a unique, crew-rated spacecraft, so sticking it on top of another launch vehicle won't be as easy or as inexpensive as it is to do virtually or hypothetically. In this video, I'll take a first look at the cost and schedule questions and implications of a theoretical Orion launch vehicle move.

Imagery is courtesy of NASA, except where noted.

00:00 Intro
00:34 Overview of findings from the completed Orion base heatshield investigation
03:03 Initial thoughts, takeaways from the December 5 Artemis press conference
13:38 Jared Isaacman is the new NASA Administrator nominee
15:03 The devil is in the details about a new launch vehicle for Orion
19:51 A post-heatshield decision look at the big picture
23:26 Thanks for watching!

 

[Byeman]

This is why I mentioned SLS extant cores being used for (more strongly built) ice giant probes...a Pluto orbiter.. interstellar precursor.

wrong. SLS is too expensive for probes.

Super-probes are as infrequent as SLS cores--thus a perfect match. Titan III and IV launches were expensive and rare--but they gave us Voyagers and Cassini. Let SLS go out with dignity.

Wrong again. Infrequent flights of launch vehicle is a perfect match for high costs and low reliability. Basically paying people to do nothing.

Titan III and IV launches were expensive and rare-

They weren't rare. Titans were still flying other missions. Titan IIIE was cheaper than Saturn IB Centaur. Titan IV was still cheaper than costs for Shuttle launched probes.

Let SLS go out with dignity.

It doesn't deserve it. Better just end it and not waste anymore money

You know what is a bigger waste than a rocket that is thrown away after a single flight?

Throwing an expendable away before it flies.

Wrong again. Sunk cost fallacy. Throwing good money at bad money. No need to continue development of new RS-25s, new SRBs and EUS.

Even Paul Allen's sister let the workers see their craft aloft...even though Roc's survival looked bleak at the time...workers need meaning to their lives as much as any paycheck...

Meh and unrelated to SLS. Anyways, The taxpayers don't owe the workers .

Instead of killing SLS to save Artemis just to repeat Apollo 8--I want the opposite... maybe an NTR for the very last SLS being the Interstellar probe.

Too risky to put NTR on SLS. just fly the next one and be done.

Let's support outer planet probes--and leave manned spaceflight to Elon and China.

No. Flying cargo and probes is best done by commercial launch vehicles like the last 30.

 

[Wyvern]

This is why I mentioned SLS extant cores being used for (more strongly built) ice giant probes...a Pluto orbiter.. interstellar precursor.

Super-probes are as infrequent as SLS cores--thus a perfect match. Titan III and IV launches were expensive and rare--but they gave us Voyagers and Cassini. Let SLS go out with dignity.

You know what is a bigger waste than a rocket that is thrown away after a single flight?

Throwing an expendable away before it flies.

Even Paul Allen's sister let the workers see their craft aloft...even though Roc's survival looked bleak at the time...workers need meaning to their lives as much as any paycheck...

Instead of killing SLS to save Artemis just to repeat Apollo 8--I want the opposite... maybe an NTR for the very last SLS being the Interstellar probe.

Let's support outer planet probes--and leave manned spaceflight to Elon and China.

I suppose it comes down to the cost of finishing and flying the current SLS rocket. If the price isn't too high then it probably won't hurt too much to just fly the thing even if the programme is cancelled. The only problem is finding a mission and payload that makes sense for SLS. It's not so much that it can't happen, more that it will take years and probably billions to finish the payload never mind the rocket.

I'd like to see SLS do some good and make use of the money and work that went into it but I really don't trust NASA, the gov or their contractors these days. There's a pretty big chance that this hypothetical mission will end up as just another millstone.

 

[publiusr]

Maybe Bezos could use MAF for New Armstrong.

 

[Byeman]

Maybe Bezos could use MAF for New Armstrong.

It is already at KSC. And anyways, he would want his people in it and not former SLS workers.

 

[publiusr]

It still would give him political capital.

 

[Byeman]

It still would give him political capital.

Doesn't need it. He has money, doesn't need to ask for it.

 

[NMaude]

New update on the status of Artemis-II and considerations for new Orion LV:

There's more to cover from last week's NASA press conference about Artemis II decisions and plans. The space agency decided to fly Orion's heatshield as-is and continue launch preparations, while also announcing that extra Orion processing work pushed the target date out to April 2026.

In this video, I'll go over how NASA plans to fly the existing heatshield on Artemis II, given the char loss/spalling issues seen with the same design on Artemis I. I'll also cover that extra processing work and what a new re-entry trajectory means for Artemis II launch windows.

In the meantime, the SLS Core Stage for Artemis II was moved into a new processing cell in the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center, and I'll go over that process and what work is planned in parallel with the resumption of Solid Rocket Booster stacking in another cell in the VAB.

There's also a little more to say about the devil in the details of moving Orion to another launch vehicle, if the new administration terminates SLS.

Imagery is courtesy of NASA, except where noted.

00:00 Intro
00:37 Artemis II-related takeaways from last week's heatshield decision press conference
06:11 Second round of Orion vacuum testing complete, modified batteries reinstalled
07:37 The modified Orion re-entry trajectory plan for Artemis II
15:27 SLS hardware activity picks up in the Vehicle Assembly Building
18:15 EGS launch team continues countdown simulation training
18:37 The Artemis II big picture
19:45 More IRL considerations for Orion launch vehicle match-making from the last time NASA considered it.
26:16 Thanks for watching!

Edited to add: Many of the pad-tests could've been expedited if the SLS/Artemis programme planners had planned for and funded its equivalent of the Apollo programme's SA-500F Facilities Integration Vehicle.

 

[publiusr]

I am surprised this much got done with flat budgets

 

[martinbayer]

I am surprised this much got done with flat budgets

Not everything needs to get inflated.

 

[NMaude]

I am surprised this much got done with flat budgets

Having an SA-500F equivalent facility integration vehicle shouldn't have added much to the cost and no doubt such a vehicle once it has served its purpose could be refurbished to make it flightworthy.

 

[Byeman]

Having an SA-500F equivalent facility integration vehicle shouldn't have added much to the cost and no doubt such a vehicle once it has served its purpose could be refurbished to make it flightworthy.

Yes, it would. It would be like 1/4 of the VAB. And the vehicle would not be flight worthy, just like the shuttle one wasn't either.

 

[Byeman]

I am surprised this much got done with flat budgets

Was large flat budgets and many years of them

 

[NMaude]

Phillip Sloss has an end of the year report for the Artemis programme:

NASA provided a late-year Artemis update at a Kennedy Space Center media event this past week and in this video, I'll review what we saw and heard. The space agency recently made the decision to fly Artemis II with the existing base heatshield on the Orion spacecraft, while delaying the launch date until April 2026.

That decision to continue was made only a couple of weeks ago, and so NASA still has some work to do to figure out the roadmap from the end of this year until Artemis II is ready to fly. Orion is the critical path for the launch date and with plans in flux, there wasn't much news to share about that yet.

Coupled with few updates or events throughout 2024, the timing and remaining uncertainty gave the event a weird vibe. There wasn't much news and with the Artemis II Orion and SLS being actively worked on, we saw more Artemis III and IV Orion hardware than anything else. Most of the uncertainty about the future of Artemis remains heading into 2025, with the possibility that Elon Musk and the incoming Trump administration have big changes planned when they take over in a month. That's why it felt a little like the media event was more about that uncertainty about the political future.

Imagery is courtesy of NASA, except where noted.

00:00 Intro
00:55 Overview of the media event
03:33 NASA views April 2026 as a no later than date for Artemis II
04:22 Orion status from the media event
13:25 SLS and EGS integrated operations status from the media event
25:21 A short update on the Cell N foam spray facility at Michoud in New Orleans
25:47 The weird vibe(s) for this media event...why now?
28:30 Other news and notes
31:19 Thanks for watching!

 

[NMaude]

Phillip Sloss has uploaded his first 2025 video including news of Artemis II's stacking:

It's back to work after New Year's and in this video I'll go over how NASA's Artemis programs have resumed development and preparations for Artemis II, III, and IV. SpaceX is ready to launch the seventh Starship flight test as soon as January 13 and they provided some details about the major, block upgrade to the ship. Bechtel reached the "rig and set" milestone for construction of Mobile Launcher-2, with the first umbilical tower module now stacked on the launch platform.

Activity has resumed inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center, and there's more to cover in the VAB Transfer Aisle and High Bays 3 and 2. Exploration Ground Systems added the fourth of ten SLS solid rocket motor segments to the Artemis II stack and is looking to add the next few soon. I'll go over that and dig into some details from Boeing about their new SLS Core Stage final assembly facility in High Bay 2, called the Core Stage Vertical Integration Center.

Looking ahead, President Trump is about to start his second term and so we may finally start to hear what Elon Musk's DOGE review has in mind for Artemis in the next few weeks.

Imagery is courtesy of NASA, except where noted.

00:00 Intro
01:08 Starship flight test 7 currently scheduled for January 13th
03:05 A few details about Starship HLS Earth orbit refueling plans for Artemis III and IV
04:43 Mobile Launcher-2 umbilical tower assembly begins with the "rig and set" milestone
06:59 More detail about Boeing's new Core Stage Vertical Integration Center in VAB High Bay 2
15:36 Other news and notes, beginning with an Artemis II booster stacking update
17:50 Axiom EMU 2024 year-end slide show
18:29 Recently released images of EUS Green Run preparations in October at Stennis Space Center
19:17 October pictures of Core Stage-3 LOX tank cleaning preparations
19:49 Orion test article, formerly the Artemis I crew module, returns to KSC after Ohio testing
20:38 Artemis politics: Trump/Musk transition only a week away, Artemis impacts remain to be seen
21:50 Forward outlook for Artemis II and III at the beginning of the year
24:24 Thanks for watching!

 

[NMaude]

Phillip Sloss has a new video out about the followup investigation of the Artemis I heat shield:

There's more to talk about on the Orion base heatshield decision, with the publication of an additional visual detail from the investigation. During the year-end holidays, one of the char loss events during the Artemis I Orion re-entry was identified in the onboard re-entry video. That was published as a part of a feature about the NASA Engineering and Safety Center.

In this video, I go through finding that frame in the onboard re-entry video, previously-released by NASA over a year ago. With the help of a NASA technical paper, we can also put that into a little bit of context within Orion's re-entry profile.

Imagery is courtesy of NASA, except where noted.

00:00 Intro
00:41 Orion Avcoat char loss event identified in onboard reentry video
01:57 A little background about the heatshield and investigation to provide some context
05:12 Holiday NASA feature identifies char loss event in video
06:01 Summary overview of Orion's skip entry capabilities
08:48 Where was that char loss event during re-entry?
10:27 Background about the root cause of the char loss on Artemis I
14:15 Thanks for watching!

 

[GTX]

For the model makers:

 

[publiusr]

Very nice.

I wonder if anyone filmed the SLS core re-entry.

Griffin’s lunar plan

https://republicans-science.house.gov/_cache/files/2/d/2dc97bb6-040b-4d15-ae69-6b8de637174d/448A0B95841995613C9A9B19135C104C.2024-01-17-griffin---testimony.pdf

Seconded

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_Zq7dn-_1JA

SLS history

SLS (Space Launch System) - eoPortal

Other Space Activity - SLS (Space Launch System)

www.eoportal.org

 

[NMaude]

Another Artemis/SLS update from Phillip Sloss:

NASA and its Artemis contractors provided a little more color about the Artemis II schedule this past week, which helped contextualize the ongoing SLS solid rocket booster stacking in the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center. Imagery was provided by NASA public affairs of the seventh of the ten segments being lifted into place on the Mobile Launcher in the last week of January, and now we're hearing that Orion may be ready for launch processing in April.

I review the latest solid rocket motor segment to be stacked and the schedule hints in this video, along with updates I got from Boeing about upcoming milestones for the SLS stages they are building for Artemis III and IV. There were also few other Artemis news items from the same trade show panels where the Artemis II news came from, a rare Dragon XL note and a couple of details about the Starship HLS uncrewed lunar ascent demonstration.

And on top of that NASA and ISS took a turn in the political news cycle this week, which wasn't directly connected to Artemis...but we're wondering how much longer it will be before the circus comes for Artemis.

Imagery is courtesy of NASA, except where noted.

News articles cited:
https://spacenews.com/trump-tells-mus...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...acex-already-planned-to-return/&v=aVNtUN57hPU

00:00 Intro
00:59 Artemis II stacking update and schedule hints
06:20 SLS Stages production updates from Boeing
15:15 Other news and notes
16:16 Dragon XL and Starship lunar ascent demo notes
18:02 Belated notice that RS-25 restart completed design certification
18:52 Thanks for watching!

 

[aonestudio]

Boeing has informed its employees of uncertainty in future SLS contracts

The White House has not made a final decision yet on the large rocket.

arstechnica.com

 

[NMaude]

Boeing has informed its employees of uncertainty in future SLS contracts

The White House has not made a final decision yet on the large rocket.

arstechnica.com

I won't be surprised at all if Elon musk is trying to get it axed, but there WILL be a lot of pushback in Congress from Senators and Congressmen representing districts where the SLS rocket is being manufactured.

 

[NMaude]

Phillip Sloss has just uploaded a video about the potential cancellation of the SLS (I can see the hand of Musk here) and Boeing giving its' SLS workforce a heads up about them possibly being laid-off:

This is an extra edition, Friday news dump version of the podcast, focusing on Boeing's layoff warning to a sizable number of its SLS workforce. In this video, I'm trying to catch up to last night's news articles, analyze the Boeing statement, wonder about the platitude-packed NASA statement, and add some context and perspective about the Boeing SLS contract situation with NASA.

Although people forget or ignore that there are other SLS prime contractors, Boeing's contracts with NASA have earlier deadlines, which might be attractive to a DOGE department in the Trump Administration looking for places to cut the federal budget. 24 hours after the news broke about 60-day WARN act notices, no one in government is directly connecting them to the SLS termination rumors that started after the election in November...but no one in government is trying to clear the air one way or another.

Another thing about those other SLS contracts that run through Artemis X, not Artemis IV: the government will have to buy them out to terminate.

Imagery is courtesy of NASA, except where noted.

Links to Reddit threads:
https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...g_sls_layoffs_announced_272025/&v=mRqAUemYxok
/ boeing_sls_layoffs_announced_272025

/ seeing_an_all_hands_pop_up_on_a_friday_aft... https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...s_pop_up_on_a_friday_afternoon/&v=mRqAUemYxok

Links to stories referenced:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...-workers-on-moon-rocket-program&v=mRqAUemYxok
https://spacenews.com/boeing-warns-sl...
https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/02...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...-nasa-may-cancel-sls-contracts/&v=mRqAUemYxok

00:00 Intro
00:47 Boeing informs SLS workforce of possible layoffs in April of up to 400 people
02:32 Understanding the SLS contract situation: Boeing in a different position than the SLS contractors
07:57 NASA makes a statement deferring comment
08:57 If this is a precursor to Trump/Musk cancellation, what are the implications?
10:05 Don't forget about termination costs, a.k.a., contractor buyouts
10:55 Are Trump/Musk going straight to Mars and bypass the Moon?
11:35 Thanks for watching!

 

[Byeman]

Phillip Sloss has just uploaded a video about the potential cancellation of the SLS (I can see the hand of Musk here)

Not at all, SLS has been on the ropes awhile

 

[publiusr]

A paper on SLS

https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/10.2514/1.A36261

 

[NMaude]

Phillip Sloss has just uploaded a new status report on the SLS:

The NASA workforce is continuing to prepare to fly Artemis II, III, and missions beyond that, with hopes they will be allowed to finish those preparations. The space agency isn't acknowledging the rumors of serious jeopardy, neither are they attempting to refute them, so reporters like me will continue to watch developments for both, even if both are shrouded in some level of secrecy.

In this video I'll recap the little bit of Artemis news announced last week before the Boeing SLS layoff warning leaked out and around that limited update on status. Artemis II stacking continues, with Exploration Ground Systems almost done topping out the SLS Boosters. There was a media event in New Orleans coincident with Super Bowl week last week, but unfortunately travel there was impossible given the short notice provided and the budget I'm working with, so we'll have to wait for a future opportunity for another update about what's going on at Michoud Assembly Facility.

The news of note from within Artemis was Thales Alenia Space winning the contract to build the Gateway airlock module. That wouldn't be launched until Artemis VI under the current plan, which seems up in the air right now given the lack of guidance about what President Trump's administration wants to do.

While this goes on, we'll be following the continuing work and the continuing suspense and reporting what we can, and the back half of the video covers our current understanding of where the work is now and would go the rest of the year.

Imagery is courtesy of NASA, except where noted.

00:00 Intro
01:24 EGS Integrated Operations continues to stack the Artemis II SLS Boosters, almost done
02:26 Shut out of NASA's pre-Super Bowl media event at Michoud
03:07 Thales Alenia Space wins the Gateway airlock module contract
04:17 Correction: it was an EGS representative in the Core Stage-3 engine section with the Artemis II crew
04:38 NASA provides updates on Orion Launch Abort System hardware production for Artemis II, III, and IV
07:59 Taking a look at some videos of Artemis II flight crew and control training
11:20 The latest we have on current status and forward outlook for Artemis II
14:53 Artemis III current status, forward outlook
18:01 ASAP annual report for 2024 includes note about Axiom Space AxEMU delivery timeframe
19:26 Thanks for watching!

In addition to the work being done of the Artemis IV first-stage and EUS Boeing has started manufacturing major sub-assemblies for the Artemis V first-stage starting with its' thrust-structure.

 

[southwestforests]

A nice new Artemis 2 video from NASA,

Which I'm enjoying as a standalone entity independent of its Earthside backstory and current happenings.

Artemis II to the Moon: Launch to Splashdown (NASA Mission Animation)
Feb 10, 2025
The Artemis II mission, slated to launch early 2026, will fly four astronauts around the Moon. This mission will last for about 10 days and will be the first crewed test flight of the Space Launch System rocket, the Orion spacecraft, and the Exploration Ground Systems at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Florida needed to support them.

Not only will this mission be the first time in over 50 years that human beings have seen the Moon close-up, Artemis II will also prepare us for future human landings on the Moon starting with the Artemis III mission and help prepare for future missions to Mars.

To learn more about the Artemis II mission, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/mission/artemis-ii/

Credit: NASA

 

[TomcatViP]

Why 4 astronauts? I mean it's not like they have a lot of space to spare inside Orion.

 

[Archibald]

I hope it gets canned. SLS is a truly obscene waste of dozen billion dollars.

 

[Byeman]

Why 4 astronauts? I mean it's not like they have a lot of space to spare inside Orion.

it was designed for 4

 

[NMaude]

Philip Sloss has another update for SLS, Orion and Artemis II:

The release of the Artemis II mission crew patch is another event symbolizing the coming launch, but will imagery like the recent SLS Core Stage to Booster mate or the patch change plans for the future of Artemis?

A few days before the patch was made public, another news story added weight to the rumors that President Trump and Elon Musk are looking at terminating SLS, freeing Musk from his Artemis lunar lander obligations, and pivoting to Musk's long-time goal of Mars. NASA Administrator nominee Jared Isaacman was said to be onboard with Trump and Musk's plans; he'll get a chance to speak to that in his confirmation hearing that was scheduled for April 9.

I'll go over that, the arrival of the Gateway HALO module in the U.S., and more Artemis II information that Exploration Ground Systems provided to the media at an event in San Diego after their landing and recovery training exercise.Imagery is courtesy of NASA, except where noted.

Links to social media posts:https://bsky.app/profile/micahmaidenb...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev....bsky.social/post/3lllvw2uccs24&v=z7a1rQ0cLns
Links to stories referenced:https://www.wsj.com/business/elon-mus...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...nasa-mars-space-travel-d3978a7b&v=z7a1rQ0cLns

00:00 Intro
01:46 WSJ story adds weight to rumors that Trump/Musk want to cancel SLS or all or Artemis
03:39 Jared Isaacman's NASA Administrator nomination hearing scheduled for April 9th
04:34 Artemis II astronauts unveil their mission patch
06:03 URT-12 media event held in San Diego after EGS landing and recovery certification
14:13 Gateway HALO module frame arrives in Phoenix from Turin for outfitting to become a spacecraft
16:29 Thanks for watching!

 

[NMaude]

Philip Sloss has uploaded his quarterly report for Artemis and the SLS:

Reviewing the work completed by NASA and its Artemis partners during the first quarter of 2025 on preparations and planning for the Artemis II, III, and IV missions.

Imagery is courtesy of NASA, except where noted.

Links to social media posts:
https://x.com/jeff_foust/status/18847...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...oust/status/1884700023063024047&v=cCSnJ1xdEYs
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1892621...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...musk/status/1892621691060093254&v=cCSnJ1xdEYs
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1892627...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...musk/status/1892627928921329862&v=cCSnJ1xdEYs
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1895598...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...musk/status/1895598258225106984&v=cCSnJ1xdEYs

Links to stories referenced:
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/key-...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...ver-us-moon-program-2025-02-19/&v=cCSnJ1xdEYs

00:00 Intro
00:20 Quarter in review: three major themes
03:54 Artemis II status and outlook
08:00 Artemis III status and (cloudy) outlook
23:52 Artemis IV status and outlook
35:02 Artemis V and beyond
37:15 Thanks for watching!

 

[NMaude]

Jared Isaacman has been confirmed as the new NASA administrator but there are programmes in jeopardy with everything in doubt, from Philip Sloss:

Soon-to-be NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman's nomination hearing is the main focus of this week's Artemis roundup. Mr. Isaacman held his proverbial cards very close so there wasn't much clarity. I'll go into detail about where that uncertainty leaves NASA's Artemis programs, with the subsequent reports that the White House wants to cut the Science directorate in half.

I'll go over other news and notes during the week, with more Gateway HALO sightings and a lot of work activity in the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 area in preparation for Artemis II, III, and IV.

Imagery is courtesy of NASA, except where noted.

Space Coast Live (http://nsf.live/spacecoast) courtesy of NSF/NASASpaceflight, used with permission.

Links to social media posts:
https://x.com/SenTedCruz/status/19093...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...Cruz/status/1909384195774070929&v=Sbnv79Oyk4Y
https://x.com/SenKatieBritt/status/19...
https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...ktUaFDp2xVebXyueND3EQLbLRuf74Bl&v=Sbnv79Oyk4Y
/ pfbid0a6nbky5fsotpyicuraebmaes4vljhysquckt... https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...ktUaFDp2xVebXyueND3EQLbLRuf74Bl&v=Sbnv79Oyk4Y
https://x.com/esaspaceflight/status/1...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...ight/status/1910292626407850394&v=Sbnv79Oyk4Y

Links to stories referenced:
https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/04...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...erates-science-funding-at-nasa/&v=Sbnv79Oyk4Y
https://spacepolicyonline.com/news/is...https://www.youtube.com/redirect?ev...ence-discovery-on-shaky-ground/&v=Sbnv79Oyk4Y

00:00 Intro
01:55 Mr. Isaacman had the NASA Admin job before the nomination hearing started
02:43 Did the hearing answer any long-standing questions?
07:25 Takeaways from the hearing: Mr. Isaacman very guarded in his testimony
12:54 Ranking Senators in the hearing still support current Artemis programs
16:16 Bottom lines from the hearing: White House cuts to Artemis not off the table
18:00 No showstoppers to confirmation, but Mr. Isaacman did not tell Senators what they wanted to hear
20:17 Mr. Isaacman's legacy begins again as a Trump man
20:35 Artemis II SLS Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter stacked in the VAB
21:41 Pegasus barge picks up SLS transportation equipment at KSC for future deliveries
24:49 New Gateway HALO pictures released
25:43 Mobile Launcher-2 umbilical tower module 6 stacked
27:18 Thanks for watching!

 

[Michel Van]

Seems White House plans after Artemis III phase out SLS and replace it by "Commercial service".

source

https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Fiscal-Year-2026-Discretionary-Budget-Request.pdf

 

[BlueAbyssal]

Big news, but it’ll be a while before we know what will actually happen. My guess is many of the cuts will be ignored by Congress.

 

[NCQ]

Seems White House plans after Artemis III phase out SLS and replace it by "Commercial service".

Notably though, it doesn't seem to provide any money to actually fund a commercial replacement. The top line for SLS and its replacement has an almost $1 billion cut, and while a lot of that is the result of killing Block 1B and Gateway, it doesn't seem to actually leave any room in the budget for developing a replacement. And considering that AIII is in three years, and aerospace projects are not quick (especially for something like crewed transport to the Moon), you need to start funding that ASAP. And even if you did start funding it fully immediately we're likely to have a gap in beyond LEO HSF for at least a little while. As it is, the plan seems to be to just kill SLS/Orion before even setting up a program to replace them.

 

[NMaude]

Seems White House plans after Artemis III phase out SLS and replace it by "Commercial service".

source

https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Fiscal-Year-2026-Discretionary-Budget-Request.pdf

My guess is many of the cuts will be ignored by Congress.

I strongly suspect that pork-barrel politics will come to the rescue of the SLS.

 

[BlueAbyssal]

As it is, the plan seems to be to just kill SLS/Orion before even setting up a program to replace them.

I suspect the idea is that Starship will replace the SLS and Orion, and it's clearly already intended to carry people, and already funded, so there's no need to institute a new program. It may also be that the administration is being provocative to get the most interested members of Congress to suggest a compromise themselves.

I strongly suspect that pork-barrel politics will come to the rescue of the SLS.

It may, but the program has a fraction of the defenders in Congress that it used to, and those that remain have a fraction of the power of their predecessors. It'll be a tougher fight for Katie Britt than it would be for Richard Shelby. The private sector in virtually every state that has a large SLS-related manufacturing presence has also grown substantially, so jobs are less of a pressing issue.

 

[NCQ]

I suspect the idea is that Starship will replace the SLS and Orion, and it's clearly already intended to carry people, and already funded, so there's no need to institute a new program.

As it currently stands, the only crewed version of Starship that will be available in the near term is Starship HLS. And that isn't really useable as a crew transport currently based off the mission architecture and trajectory used to get to lunar orbit. It just takes much too long to get to the Moon and would require doing refueling along the way with crew onboard. It also can't return to Earth, but perhaps using a Dragon to shuttle astros would be possible (it would need two though, Dragon can't loiter in Orbit for the full duration of a lunar mission). Creating some sort of lunar crew transporter from Starship would definitely be possible, but that means money and time to make it happen.

 

[NMaude]

In the short term the only game in town for sending astronauts to the Moon whether one likes it or not is the SLS.