Elon Musk to Give Update on Starship, Variant of which is to Land Humans on Moon During Artemis 3

Artemis SLS / Orion rollout now expected mid-March, while progress update on Starship prototype ‘Serial No. 20’ / SN20 to be given 10 Feb at 20:00 CST from Starbase TX; Expected topics include Raptor 2 engines (~230t thrust vs ~185 of Raptor 1) recently subjected to destructive testing, Moonship HLS variant, and orbital test flight landing 100km from Kauaʻi; FAA environmental assessment, “the schedule driver” of launch per Musk; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service contention that launch activity is deleterious to Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge may trigger full EIS review
First commercial orbital mission ‘Inspiration4’ on SpaceX Dragon capsule, sending humans furthest from Earth in 21st century, reaching 585km; Inspiration4 Commander Jared Isaacman reflects on “single most impactful moment” being Moonrise, urges space travelers push “little bit more and get out there [Moon]”; William Shatner, famous for Star Trek Captain Kirk portrayal, insists “everybody in the world needs to do this” after Blue Origin flight; Yusaku Maezawa and assistant Yozo Hirano launching to ISS 8 Dec via Soyuz; Maezawa organizing lunar orbit on Starship with 10-12 member crew NET 2023
12U lunar pathfinder 

NASA HLS Program Manager Lisa Watson-Morgan Oversees CBR Process, Customized To Establish Standards For Each Of 3 Unique Lander Designs: Traditional Approach By Blue Origin Group Awarded US$579M, Stripped-Down Strategy From Dynetics / 25+ Subcontractors Awarded $253M And Novel In-Space Refueling Method From SpaceX Initially Awarded $135M + $53M For Propellant Transfer Demonstration; Safety, Construction, Testing / Validation Considered; Watson-Morgan Is Confident That Diversity Of Design Advances “Bold And Challenging Objective Of Sending Astronauts To The Lunar South Pole”; 


