A bit of potential news

Since I really can't find anything interesting going on, let me mention something that doesn't mean much right now, but has the potential to have major, great impacts. 

A US House committee with oversight of NASA unanimously passed a “reauthorization” act for the space agency on Wednesday. The legislation must still be approved by the full House before being sent to the Senate, which may take up consideration later this month. 

Just to underline and emphasize, this isn't a law yet, and will probably change before it becomes law, if it ever even does become law. Congress passes reauthorization bills like this every couple of years, not just for NASA but for all agencies with complex fields they regulate, to give a sense of what the administration wants to see them accomplish. These aren't bills that actually regulate appropriations (spending) but can have effects for years. 

One of the more important parts of the bill is considered the first step toward creating a “commercial” deep space program.  

Most notably among these was the Amendment No. 01, offered by the chair of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas), as well as its ranking member, Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), and three other legislators. 

The amendment concerns acquisition powers bestowed upon NASA by Congress, stating in part: “The Administrator may, subject to appropriations, procure from United States commercial providers operational services to carry cargo and crew safely, reliably, and affordably to and from deep space destinations, including the Moon and Mars.”

Now that sounds pretty generic, as it should, but it may show a way around the need for more SLS launches; as in nothing past Artemis V or possibly not even beyond III. 

NASA’s initial missions to the Moon, through Artemis V, have a clearly defined architecture: They must use the Space Launch System rocket, Orion spacecraft, and a lander built by either SpaceX or Blue Origin to complete lunar landings.

But after that? With this amendment, Congress appears to be opening the aperture to commercial companies. That is to say, if SpaceX wanted to bid an end-to-end Starship lunar mission, it could; or if Blue Origin wanted to launch Orion on New Glenn, that is also an option. The language is generalized enough, not specifying “launch” but rather “transportation,” that in-space companies such as Impulse Space could also get creative. Essentially, Congress is telling the US industry that if it is ready to step up, NASA should allow it to bid on lunar cargo and crew missions.

Yes, that first paragraph says "missions to the moon, through Artemis V" but it doesn't seem to say, NASA must perform Artemis V as envisioned now and must buy SLS systems. If SpaceX or Blue Origin or some startup we've never heard of comes out of the blue and sells NASA upper management on a totally different approach, that doesn't sound impossible to me. Need I add, "I'm not a lawyer" or some sort of disclaimer to that?

It's important to remember that NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman is not a fan of SLS, he just thinks it's the best chance we have to get to the moon before 2030. He has enough experience with private space to - perhaps - be more willing to take what others consider big chances.

While it probably goes without saying that both Representatives Brian Babin and Zoe Lofgren said nice things about the bill, it goes farther than that. 

Advocates of commercial spaceflight, who have long argued that the private sector is ready to step up and play a more comprehensive role in deep space transportation for NASA, hailed the new amendment.

“This is quite a step in the right direction for the future of commercial space transportation options for deep space,” Dave Cavossa, president of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, told Ars. “It is also very much in line with this administration’s focus on commercial solutions and competition. This provides NASA with flexibility to procure additional services for the Moon and Mars in the future.”

Of course, this is politics and you can bet congress critters will vote on what they think is best for them. If major contractors on SLS are in their district, they're likely to vote against it, but that doesn't figure to be many.

If this passes, we can expect NASA to spend some time creating infrastructure to implement this. Hopefully, they could do this without spending months or years. An advantage they have now is a very successful model that currently contracts with private providers for crew and cargo missions to the International Space Station. Perhaps they could just expand that office for missions to the Moon or beyond.

Not really launch related, but I find catching the Starship booster to be an irresistible picture. Screen grab from the video of Flight Test-5, a few seconds before the successful grab, October of '24. Image credit: SpaceX