SpaceKate

Alter-ego of Broadcast Journalist @RadioKate, reporting the latest spaceflight and exploration news. Advocate for diversity and women in STEM. ISU SSP12.

[SpaceKate @SpaceKate]

@Thievesbook 😂

[SpaceKate @SpaceKate]

Quite enjoyed the question of whether they’d bet money on a 2028 human landing on the Moon - and kudos to Isaacman for his honest response: “We’re betting taxpayer money on it - in the most efficient and responsible way” (or words close to that effect). #Artemis

[SpaceKate @SpaceKate]

@keano70 I’ve honestly never really understood why such a complex architecture was chosen.

[SpaceKate @SpaceKate]

Yay - a question about how many refuelling flights for Starship. Parsons says they aren’t looking at 22, SpaceX’s latest estimate from Elon is 6-8, but it will depend on prop transfer efficiency etc. #Artemis

[SpaceKate @SpaceKate]

@Simberg_Space True - as I said, I could have been reading too much into it. But given the way they U-turned on Gateway (which international partners had been committed to) it might have been nice to mention them (if they were indeed part of the plan).

[SpaceKate @SpaceKate]

“To return American astronauts to the Moon” - is that a hint there won’t be an international partner astronaut on Artemis IV? Or am I reading too much into things? #Artemis

[SpaceKate @SpaceKate]

@montanabohemian I know they were asked more about how they’d get more data (like on getting Astros between the two craft anyone?!), but I felt the answer glossed over the fact that (as I understand it) Artemis IV could be the first time that gets tested in space!

[SpaceKate @SpaceKate]

Oh - I guess it was news to me that the Artemis III interaction with Starship was only going to last two hours. How is that enough to check everything they need if they seriously reckon they will use it for a lunar landing on Artemis IV? #Artemis

[SpaceKate @SpaceKate]

@Thievesbook 2028 of course! Definitely 2028. Yep.

[SpaceKate @SpaceKate]

Apologies - my rumbling tummy cut my live-tweeting short. There was actually some decent info in that presser, it just took them a while to get to it. Need to study the mission profile slides for SpaceX and Blue Origin HLS options to make sure I fully understand. #Artemis

[SpaceKate @SpaceKate]

Ooh - nice clarification at the end there on the EVA sortie suits thanks to @manumazzanti’s question. While they are limited to two hours for an EVA, they are capable of doing multiple EVAs. The plan is for two two-hour EVAs. #Artemis

[Spaceflight Now @SpaceflightNow]

29/ Regarding the number of refueling flights that will be needed, Parsons says that the cryogenic propellant transfer demo at the beginning of 2027 will teach them a lot, but says the anticipated efficiencies should drive SpaceX closer to the high single digits when it comes to fueling the tanker for a lunar landing mission. This comes after yesterday's Aerospace Safety and Advisory Panel mentioned that there could be as many 22 refueling missions.

Isaacman adds that as SpaceX ramps up launch cadence towards bi-weekly down to weekly flights of Starship, that will also help the company transition to a higher mass to LEO capability, which will drive down the number of flights as well.

[SpaceKate @SpaceKate]

@peterrhague @StephenFleming Hard disagree.

[SpaceKate @SpaceKate]

Marsha Dunn of AP asking if there is any discussion about moving the target for MoonBase and whether moving away from South Pole is being discussed. Isaacman says South Pole is the most desirable and where they are tracking to at the moment. #Artemis

[SpaceKate @SpaceKate]

“Regardless of who goes first, both companies (SpaceX and Blue Origin) are planning for lunar landings in 2028” says Jeremy Parsons. #Artemis

[NSF - NASASpaceflight.com @NASASpaceflight]

Artemis IV mission overview slide:

[Ken Kirtland IV @KenKirtland17]

2 days of tests and entering with Blue Moon.

2 hours of test with Starship. Mostly about characterizing docking and pushing Orion.

[Scott Manley @DJSnM]

Most of the SpaceX reel was things we're already seen... but this is new I think?

[SpaceKate @SpaceKate]

Minimum time for EVAs in sortie suit configuration will be two hours, then the baseline suit will be for longer missions. “Taking an iterative, achievable approach” says Parsons. Assume that means the Axiom suit isn’t on track to do full stuff according to the current timeline.

[SpaceKate @SpaceKate]

@RossBishop77 Yeah I knew there was no ingress planned, but I still thought they might spend a bit more time together!

[SpaceKate @SpaceKate]

Jeremy Parsons that is.