And that's, you know - if we can do - if we can go to the moon cheaper, we're going to do it cheaper, you know?īYRNE: This public-private partnership isn't without risks. LENHARDT: If it makes sense to the government to go the commercial route, we're going to do that 'cause it saves the taxpayers money. And it's paying off, says NASA's Douglas Lenhardt. And now the Artemis program is using that model. It was time for it to go through.īYRNE: The Obama and Trump administrations, NASA worked to develop its commercial cargo and crew programs, relying on commercial companies to deliver services, supplies and, in 2020, astronauts to the International Space Station. Bush administration as it planned for the future of NASA after the retirement of the Space Shuttle program, which took astronauts to space for three decades, says University of Central Florida history professor Amy Foster.ĪMY FOSTER: It was a great program, but it was still flying with, in many ways, 1980s technology. The paradigm shift started with the George W. It's like calling a lunar Uber instead of buying your own moon buggy. Instead, the agency is asking a commercial partner for a ride to the surface. The new way is the lunar lander.īYRNE: The lunar lander, set to fly with the Artemis III mission, will be built on a very different model. LENHARDT: So that's the classic NASA old-school way of doing things. For Artemis, Lockheed is building the capsule, and Boeing is developing the core stage of the rocket that will get it into space. He says that's basically the same blueprint as the agency's Apollo moon missions, which took astronauts to the moon in the 1960s and '70s. Once they're done, they'll hand it over to NASA, and then NASA will take over the rest of the flight.īYRNE: Douglas Lenhardt is a supply chain leader for the agency. The operation is run by Orion's prime contractor, Lockheed Martin.ĭOUGLAS LENHARDT: Lockheed Martin is a commercial company, right? They're making the spacecraft for NASA. Their spacecraft sits in a massive building, along with two more capsules that are also being readied for future missions to the lunar surface. And the attention to detail just makes it very clear that they're focused on getting us there, but most important, back safely.īYRNE: NASA's Victor Glover is piloting the Artemis II mission, along with Commander Reid Wiseman and mission specialists Christina Koch and Canada's Jeremy Hansen. VICTOR GLOVER: I mean, looking at this beautiful spacecraft, it's amazing how much hard work has gone into it. From member station WMFE, Brendan Byrne reports the Artemis program represents a turning point in both where NASA is heading and how it's getting there.īRENDAN BYRNE, BYLINE: At the Operations and Checkout Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the crew of Artemis II stand in front of the Orion spacecraft, the capsule that will take them more than a quarter of a million miles from home to a place no human has been in more than half a century. The three NASA astronauts and one Canadian are set to launch to the moon on a flyby mission at the end of next year, part of NASA's new moon program called Artemis. The four astronauts heading to the moon have met the spacecraft that will get them there.
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