{"id":17964,"date":"2019-08-16T19:52:30","date_gmt":"2019-08-16T11:52:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/nasa-puts-alabama-center-in-charge-of-moon-lander-program-drawing-texans-ire\/"},"modified":"2019-08-16T19:52:30","modified_gmt":"2019-08-16T11:52:30","slug":"nasa-puts-alabama-center-in-charge-of-moon-lander-program-drawing-texans-ire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/nasa-puts-alabama-center-in-charge-of-moon-lander-program-drawing-texans-ire\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA puts Alabama center in charge of moon lander program, drawing Texans\u2019 ire"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine is dwarfed by a 149-foot-tall liquid hydrogen structural test article for the heavy-lift Space Launch System as he announces Marshall Space Flight Center\u2019s leadership role in developing the human landing system for Artemis moon missions. (NASA Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine announced today that Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama will take the lead role in developing the vehicles for landing astronauts on the moon \u2013 which could be good news for Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos\u2019 Blue Origin space venture, but definitely came as bad news for Texas lawmakers.<\/p>\n

To be fair, Texas is getting a piece of the action in NASA\u2019s Artemis moon program as well: NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center in Houston will continue to take the lead role in human spaceflight \u2013 and in the development of the ascent module for the human landing system.<\/p>\n

The latest step in NASA\u2019s Artemis plan for sending astronauts to the moon within five years came during a ceremony at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., staged in front of a 149-foot-tall structural test model for NASA\u2019s heavy-lift Space Launch System rocket.<\/p>\n

Bridenstine said the moon lander program would bring 140 jobs to Marshall and 87 jobs to Johnson, with another 136 distributed among other NASA centers. \u201cWe focus on a \u2018One NASA\u2019 integrated approach that uses the technical capabilities of many centers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Despite Bridenstine\u2019s reassurances, Texan members of Congress said they were disappointed by the decision, and complained that NASA officials hadn\u2019t told them about Alabama\u2019s elevated role until reports started appearing in news outlets such as Ars Technica.<\/p>\n

U.S. Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, the ranking GOP member of the House Space Subcommittee, was a no-show at today\u2019s ceremony and joined Texas\u2019 GOP senators \u2013 Ted Cruz and John Cornyn \u2013 in calling for the decision to be reconsidered.<\/p>\n

\u201cMarshall Space Flight Center does tremendous work for our nation\u2019s space program, but the knowledge base and skill set for this task unquestionably resides at JSC where the Apollo lunar lander program was successfully managed,\u201d Babin said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Cruz, who chairs the Senate Space Subcommittee, also said Johnson should have the lead role for the lunar lander. \u201cI will use every tool at my disposal to ensure the Johnson Space Center remains the crown jewel in human space exploration,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n