Das US-Repräsentantenhaus unternimmt den ersten Schritt zur Schaffung eines „kommerziellen“ Weltraumprogramms

Some interesting parts:

>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.”

>That language is fairly general in nature, but the intent seems clear. 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 amendment must still be accepted by the full House and the US Senate.

>If ultimately passed, NASA could create a new program office, set requirements, and establish a process to “on ramp” new contractors for deep space transportation missions. Much like the space agency currently contracts with private providers for crew and cargo missions to the International Space Station, it could similarly have a mechanism to do so for missions to the Moon or beyond.

>The hope is that private companies can provide a more robust, affordable, and sustainable transportation system that allows NASA to establish a long-term lunar surface program.

Would be very good if this gets passed.

Requiring SLS through to Artemis V only to drop it is probably the worst way to do things, but I think this is a good idea. If Congress wants to replace SLS commercially they should have canceled it after Artemis 3 so they didn’t have to finish the EUS. Going by what they require right now the EUS still needs to be finished, only to fly on two missions which probably won’t even really require its updated lift capability outside of a few gateway modules which could probably be launched cheaper on other launch vehicles. Still if a commercial vehicle can do SLS’s job better than SLS can they should still cut their losses at the first opportunity they’re given and go for it.

Lol trump will make them put his name on the side and charge them a tariff for trading from space while selling a space themed crypto and saying he told them how to design the rockets.