A report published this Tuesday by the inspector general of NASA offers new data on the space agency’s management of space development contracts. Human Landing System signed with SpaceX and Blue Origin. Apparently, there are discrepancies between the company Elon Musk and NASA on What will the manual control of the lunar landing module that must be ready for Artemis IV be like?a mission scheduled for 2028 that will mean the return of humans to the lunar surface.
These vehicles are a key piece of NASA’s plan to take astronauts to the Moon this decade and then maintain a stable presence on the surface. Until now, both the agency and the companies involved had given few details about the development. The new report on the Human Landing Systems (HLS) provides information that was not publicly known.
The document signed by Robert Steinausenior official of the Office of the Inspector Generalconcludes that fixed-price contracts have been a beneficial formula for NASA in its attempt to rely more on the United States private space industry.
‘The agency’s contractual approach has been effective in containing costs and has given the HLS program visibility into the development of SpaceX and Blue Origin’s lunar modules. Suppliers have also been able to leverage NASA’s technical expertise, as well as its unique capabilities and facilities, to advance the development of these vehicles,’ the report notes.
manual control
That does not mean that difficulties have not arisen. One of them has to do with to what extent should astronauts traveling aboard SpaceX’s Starship HLS be able to assume manual control of the vehicle during descent flights to the lunar surface.
‘There exists disagreement between NASA and SpaceX over whether the vendor’s currently proposed approach to landing meets the intent of the agency’s manual control requirement. Despite the supplier’s recognition and express commitment to meet this requirement, NASA’s monitoring of the risk associated with SpaceX’s manual control indicates a worsening trend‘ says Steinau.
The report recalls that in all the manned moon landings of the program Apollo the astronauts resorted to the backup manual control method. It is also true that this happened more than half a century ago, when flight software was much less sophisticated than today.
It already happened with the Dragon Crew
The space agency and SpaceX already engaged in a similar tug-of-war during the ship’s design process. Crew Dragona decade ago. Initially, SpaceX wanted everything will be controlled only through touch screenswith a limited number of flight commands available to astronauts.
NASA objected and wanted what, in essence, were joysticks so that astronauts could pilot the ships as in previous generations. Garret Reismana former NASA astronaut then working at SpaceX, helped reach a deal in which astronauts could Manually pilot ships using touch screen controls.
However, Steinau notes that Dragon’s flight controls were developed after many successful missions of the cargo version of the vehicle flying to the International Space Station.
‘Starship will not have the same level of proven flight history in the real operating environment for its manned lunar missions. Incorporating this system capability is a key element for certification HLS flight suitability test and is part of an essential strategy for crew survival,’ he says.
Regarding Blue Origin’s HLS, the inspector general points out that the Jeff Bezosowner of amazonhas not yet defined a design for manual control.
The report also contains details about the unmanned demonstration flights that both SpaceX and Blue Origin must conduct before human missions can take place. Steinau points out that these flights will not require life support systems or airlocksas will occur in manned missions. The Starship HLS vehicle (52 meters high, similar to a 17-story building) will also not be required to test an elevator to lower the crew to the surface.