Artemis Program · U.S. · Ars Technica
Report justifies NASA cancellations
Compiled by KHAO Editorial — aggregated from 1 source. See llms.txt for citation guidance.
◌ Single Source
Three months ago, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced the space agency was making a major pivot from building a space station in lunar orbit to a base on the surface.
Key facts
- The original contract awarded to Dynetics totaled $131 million, to which NASA later added $9 million for a payload separation system
- Over the course of their life cycles, the combined contract values for these efforts ballooned from nearly $2.8 billion to $5.9 billion and NASA extended their contracted delivery dates by up
- Made largely of composites, the adapter weighed 9,650 pounds (4.3 metric tons) and stood 33 feet (10 meters) tall
- At the time the program was canceled earlier this year, the contract value had grown to $353 million, with a delivery date delayed to September 2028
Summary
In the aftermath of these decisions, there was some grumbling—mostly from contractors involved with the programs—that NASA was foolishly walking away from nearly complete hardware that the space agency needed for its Artemis Program. Isaacman said these programs were not essential for landing humans on the Moon, and added that they had cost far more than originally budgeted and had been subjected to years of delays. “For too long we tried to satisfy every stakeholder,” he said during the Ignition event in March. And fewer astronauts in space, which means fewer kids dressing up as astronauts for Halloween. On Wednesday, NASA’s Office of the Inspector General prepared a memorandum on the elements of the Artemis Program that NASA was canceling as its focus shifted to the Moon’s surface.