{"id":17893,"date":"2019-11-06T01:13:24","date_gmt":"2019-11-05T17:13:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/boeing-proposes-lunar-lander-for-nasa-crews-rivaling-blue-origin-and-spacex\/"},"modified":"2019-11-06T01:13:24","modified_gmt":"2019-11-05T17:13:24","slug":"boeing-proposes-lunar-lander-for-nasa-crews-rivaling-blue-origin-and-spacex","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/boeing-proposes-lunar-lander-for-nasa-crews-rivaling-blue-origin-and-spacex\/","title":{"rendered":"Boeing proposes lunar lander for NASA crews, rivaling Blue Origin (and SpaceX?)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Boeing
An artist\u2019s conception shows the ascent module taking off from the descent module on Boeing\u2019s lunar lander. (Boeing Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Boeing says it has submitted its proposal for a lunar lander capable of putting astronauts on the moon by as early as 2024, joining a competition that includes Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin space venture and most likely SpaceX as well.<\/p>\n

Today marked the deadline for submissions. NASA says it\u2019s aiming to select at least two proposed landing systems by January for further development. Two separate teams could be selected to build landers for moon missions in 2024 and 2025.<\/p>\n

NASA envisions a system that includes a transfer vehicle to ferry a lander from a lunar-orbiting Gateway outpost to an orbit that\u2019s closer to the moon, a descent element that would put astronauts onto the surface, and an ascent element that would carry them back to the Gateway.<\/p>\n

But Boeing said its lander wouldn\u2019t require the extra ride on a transfer vehicle. Instead, the linked-up descent and ascent elements could be sent directly to low lunar orbit, using a beefed-up version of NASA\u2019s Space Launch System rocket.<\/p>\n

\u201cUsing the lift capability of NASA\u2019s Space Launch System (SLS) Block 1B, we have developed a \u2018Fewest Steps to the Moon\u2019 approach that minimizes mission complexity, while offering the safest and most direct path to the lunar surface,\u201d Jim Chilton, senior vice president of space and launch for Boeing Defense, Space & Security, said in a news release.<\/p>\n

\"Boeing
In this artist\u2019s conception, Boeing\u2019s Human Lander System heads into orbit on the strength of a Space Launch System rocket. (Boeing Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Boeing, which is the lead contractor for the SLS core stage, said the rocket\u2019s lift capability and the simplicity of the landing system would shorten development time and lower risk. It\u2019s not clear whether the Block 1B version of the SLS would be ready in time for a 2024 mission, however.<\/p>\n

Key technologies also would be adapted from Boeing\u2019s CST-100 Starliner space taxi, which is due to start transporting astronauts to and from the International Space Station next year.<\/p>\n

Blue Origin\u2019s proposal for a lunar landing system, unveiled last month, featured partnerships with Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Draper. Boeing didn\u2019t mention any commercial partnerships but said it would work with NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center, Johnson Space Center and Kennedy Space Center.<\/p>\n

Last month, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said he suspected that SpaceX would propose using its Starship super-spaceship as an integrated landing system for the Artemis moon program. SpaceX hasn\u2019t said whether it submitted a proposal, but last month the company\u2019s president, Gwynne Shotwell, said \u201cwe definitely want to land [Starship] on the moon before 2022.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shotwell said the first lunar landing would pre-position cargo \u201cto make sure that there are resources for the folks that ultimately land on the moon by 2024, if things go well.\u201d She acknowledged, however, that her schedule reflected \u201can aspirational time frame.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An artist\u2019s conception shows the ascent module taking off from the descent module on Boeing\u2019s lunar lander. (Boeing Illustration) Boeing says it has submitted its proposal for a lunar lander capable of putting astronauts on the moon by as early as 2024, joining a competition that includes Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin space venture […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[670,2043,625],"class_list":["post-17893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-boeing","tag-lunar-lander","tag-moon"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17893"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17893\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}