NASAwill not launch astronauts around the moon next year as planned,celebrity porn videos watch free celebrity xxx sex videos pushing the Artemis IImission back another six months to April 2026, spaceofficials said Thursday.
The new timeline also will postpone the first human moon landing since Apollo 17 — Artemis III— to at least 2027. The announcement comes just a month before former President Donald Trump is expected to return to the White House for a second term.
The announcement, coupled with the upcoming change in leadership, leaves concerns as to whether Trump will continue to support the federal agency's moon-to-Mars plans. Since his campaign, Trump has forged an unexpectedly close relationship with SpaceXfounder Elon Musk. Some have wondered whether Musk's outsize influence will push the incoming president to cancel NASA's own Space Launch Systemrocket and spacecraft in favor of using SpaceX's own Starship.
"It's a legitimate question that you're suddenly going to have Starship take over everything," said NASA administrator Bill Nelson, who will leave his post at the conclusion of President Joe Biden's term.
SEE ALSO: NASA won't fly astronauts to the moon in 2024 — for good reasonThe Artemis II mission is expected to build upon the success of Artemis I, an empty test flight of Orion that sent the moonship on a 1.4 million-mile voyage. The sequel mission will test-drive the spacecraft for about 10 days with human passengers, whizzing by the moon without ever landing on it.
The Artemis II crew, announced last year, includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Hammock Koch, along with the Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen.
The delays largely stem from an investigation into problems with the Orion moon capsule's protective heat shield, discovered after the spacecraft's uncrewed Artemis Iflight in 2022. As the ship re-entered Earth's atmosphere for a splash down in the Pacific Ocean, the shield charred and eroded more than engineers had expected.
As of Thursday, agency officials said they had determined the root causeof the damage. Rather than scrap the heat shield, though, the agency plans to change the reentry trajectory to avoid a recurrence.
"While the capsule was dipping in and out of the atmosphere as part of that planned skip entry, heat accumulated inside the heat shield's outer layer, leading to gasses forming and becoming trapped inside the heat shield," said Pam Melroy, NASA's deputy administrator. "This caused internal pressure to build up and led to cracking and uneven shedding of that outer layer."
Nelson emphasized that the new schedule for Artemis would still position NASA to put boots on the lunar surface before China, which plans to send its own astronauts to the moon in 2030.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
But the delays could be the tipping point for those on Capitol Hill who would like to rein in spending on the Artemis campaign and NASA generally. The agency's SLS, sometimes dubbed the mega moon rocket, costs about $4 billioneach time it launches. Meanwhile, SpaceX's Starship, a much more powerful commercial rocket and ship, is making leaps in progresstoward flight readiness.
NASA is already paying SpaceX $4 billion to build a lander version of Starship to ferry astronauts from lunar orbit to the moon during the Artemis III and IV missions. But pressure may be mounting from lawmakers to switch horses in midstream, instead opting to outsource the entire journey to Starship. It's unclear whether Musk is jockeying for this outcome.
Nelson, who was asked Thursday if he was concerned about Musk's relationship with Trump, said he was "basically optimistic" that Musk's political activism would benefit NASA. He wouldn't speculate how the billionaire's new role as co-head of the so-called "Department of Government Efficiency" would impact NASA's overall funding and workforce.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Under Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX's chief operating officer, the commercial launch company has been a boon for the International Space Station, Nelson said, providing reliable rides for astronauts and cargo.
"The proof's in the pudding," he said. "I have every reason to think that that relationship will continue."
Just Wednesday, Trump's team announced his pick to replace Nelson at NASA's helm. The president-elect has tapped Jared Isaacman, CEO of Shift4 Payments and a friend of Musk. Isaacman has commanded two SpaceX missions, including Polaris Dawnthis year. During that five-day spaceflight, Isaacman became the first person to perform a commercial spacewalk.
Wiseman, the astronaut who will lead the Artemis II crew, has not been deterred by the schedule setbacks. He visited the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, last month and saw the Orion spacecraft and SLS's booster. Right after, he watched a livestream of Starship's sixth flight test on his phone.
Suddenly, humanity's return to the moon seemed real.
"All the elements are there for humans on the moon, and all the elements are there to push us on to Mars in the very near future," he told reporters. "I just — I felt it in my soul."
Topics NASA
Crush your soul with these children's books rewritten for a Trump presidencyCrush your soul with these children's books rewritten for a Trump presidencyFacebook redesign with dark mode rolls out for some usersIt only took us five minutes to find a big brand advertising on a hate group's YouTubeWatch this woman flub her Canadian 'Family Feud' answer in the most iconic wayThe best signs from Australia's climate protests amid bushfire crisisThe most insightful vision of the future at CES came from HBO's 'Westworld'Instagram just launched new TikTok — ahem, Boomerang — effectsInstagram just launched new TikTok — ahem, Boomerang — effectsIt only took us five minutes to find a big brand advertising on a hate group's YouTubeIndia's controversial biometric ID card system could become the only one50% off QuickBooks Payroll services will save you time and moneyWatch this woman flub her Canadian 'Family Feud' answer in the most iconic waySamsung launches the Galaxy XCover Pro, but only for this one countryApple will replace some iPhone batteries for free5 cool CES products you can get your hands on in 2020What's Apple's tax bill in New Zealand? Why it's zero, niet, nada.The most exciting Hulu originals streaming in 2020People are making fun of Airbnb's new Chinese name50% off QuickBooks Payroll services will save you time and money iQiyi removes ad skip option from basic membership, prompting renewed backlash · TechNode Douyin shifts e OnePlus Pad 2 debuts with upgraded vibrating tip stylus · TechNode China now has over 180 LLMs approved for general use · TechNode China’s Commerce Ministry responds to EV spying allegations against EU · TechNode CATL builds first factory in northern China, deepens partnership with BAIC · TechNode China’s local governments consider purchasing Tesla cars for the first time: report · TechNode Insta360’s new AI Alibaba leads cloud service market in China in Q1 · TechNode Xpeng to contribute to all Volkswagen EVs in China starting 2026 · TechNode Nissan to close Chinese joint plant after four years · TechNode Baidu shares surge on growth prospects of robotaxi business · TechNode BYD, Chery, and CATL made it onto the 2024 Fortune 500 list · TechNode Xpeng to release "door China’s Zhihu introduces AI tool to respond to users’ questions · TechNode Shanghai authorities call for “reviewable and trustworthy” AI tech · TechNode Thai PM encourages scrutiny of Temu after e WeChat tests breaking news alerts as it looks to enrich real Perfect World responds to layoffs, game project continues amid personnel adjustments · TechNode Huawei and Baidu stockpile Samsung HBM chips as US export restrictions loom: report · TechNode
2.3831s , 10155.953125 kb
Copyright © 2025 Powered by 【celebrity porn videos watch free celebrity xxx sex videos】,Warmth Information Network