SpaceX Now Causing NASA to Lose Space Race to China, Experts Say

"A multibillion-dollar contract between NASA and SpaceX is under scrutiny as the Elon Musk-helmed space company's plans to return astronauts to the surface of the Moon keep slipping. As the New York Times reports, experts are now warning that China could beat the United States in the race back to the Moon. After a series of successful robotic missions to the Earth's natural satellite, the country has made major strides in its efforts to launch its "Lanyue" lunar lander to the Moon before 2030."

"While NASA's first crewed landing attempt since the 1970s, Artemis 3, is tentatively scheduled for no earlier than mid-2027, experts warn that relying on Musk's SpaceX could set the space agency up for an ever-slipping timeline. Current and former NASA officials told the NYT that the concerns were not related to president Donald Trump and Musk's deteriorated relationship. However, they point out that the mercurial CEO may have exaggerated claims about his company's super-heavy Starship spacecraft."

"The enormous rocket has yet to launch and land successfully without blowing up, but NASA is still hoping to use a Human Landing Systems variant to shuttle the first astronauts down to the Moon a mere two years from now. And that's not to mention that the rocket will need to demonstrate that it can refuel in space before that can happen, something that has never been done before. Musk has already blown through several of his own deadlines. Both SpaceX and NASA said in 2023 that they would attempt the first in-orbit refueling test in early 2025, which has now slipped to at least next year."

""This is not anything against SpaceX - they have done incredible things," former NASA human spaceflight head Douglas Loverro told the NYT. "But the further you move from known technology, the longer it takes to go ahead and get something done.""

NASA awarded a multibillion-dollar contract to SpaceX to provide a Human Landing System for a crewed Moon landing. SpaceX's Starship has not yet completed a successful launch and landing without exploding and must demonstrate in-orbit refueling, a capability never achieved. Artemis 3 is tentatively scheduled no earlier than mid-2027, creating schedule pressure if SpaceX misses further milestones. China has completed successful robotic lunar missions and plans to land a "Lanyue" lunar lander before 2030, increasing the risk of China reaching the lunar surface ahead of the United States. Concerns focus on technical, schedule, and programmatic risks rather than political relationships.

Read at Futurism