NASA warned about the delay of the lunar mission Artemis 3 due to SpaceX problems.

According to Korrespondent.net: The NASA Advisory Council expressed concern about the timeline for the lunar module being developed based on SpaceX's Starship for the Artemis 3 mission, scheduled for 2027, reports Spacenews.

Concerns of council members

At the council meeting, participants confirmed that the Human Landing System (HLS) program using Starship may 'be delayed by years'. This became evident after a visit to the Starbase facility in Texas and meetings with SpaceX executives.

'The HLS schedule is seriously complicated and, in our opinion, could fall behind the plan by several years,' said council member Paul Hill.

He pointed out a major issue - the demonstration of cryogenic fuel transfer, which is critically important for refueling Starship in low Earth orbit before the voyage to the Moon. This phase is being slowed down due to delays in the development of the third version of the Starship rocket, which is supposed to perform these operations, as well as due to upgrades of the Raptor 3 engines.

Concerns of SpaceX's president

SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell recently acknowledged that fuel transfers are her biggest concern:

'I hope it's not as complicated as some of our engineers think.'

While experts noted the pace of Falcon 9 launches, at the same time, they warned that such priorities might divert resources from the HLS program and affect the Artemis schedule.

Prospects for the Artemis 2 and Artemis 3 missions

Council member Bill Nelson noted that preparations for Artemis 2, scheduled for early 2026, are on schedule. However, the prospects for Artemis 3 remain 'uncertain and somewhat hazy'. He pointed out the risks associated not only with HLS but also with the development of new lunar spacesuits by Axiom Space, as both projects have 'too aggressive' schedules.

'Any delays in these programs could jeopardize the timely lunar landing,' Nelson summarized.

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The situation around the Artemis program is significant not only for NASA but also for SpaceX, which relies on the successful implementation of missions. The successful completion of Artemis 2 will be an important step towards the confident execution of Artemis 3, but risks and delays remain a serious challenge for both programs. It is important to monitor further developments, as the success of these missions could mark a new era in human space exploration.