Even as a triumphant moon flyby primes agency for a 2028 landing, Trump’s proposed budget cuts cast pall on US space program
Even as Integrity, the mission moniker for the Orion capsule of Artemis II, ascended into the heavens days ago, Donald Trump was announcing his intention to slash NASA’s budget by 23%, including a 46% cut for space science initiatives.
And the Artemis program that has run years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget offers no guarantees that the next, far harder stages will run as smoothly.
He’s ambitious for sure, but people were also saying landing boosters wasn’t feasible and a waste of time. Now not only is it possible, but it’s routine, and now it allows them to put up more mass than every other agency combined. I’m also curious to know who’s catching boosters like Super Heavy.
The entire space industry is full of delays and over promises, that’s not unique to SpaceX. What is unique to SpaceX is their approach to design which is to test cheap and often in order to develop a refined end result. I’m not sure why the payload part is relevant. Starship is still a prototype, so of course they’re not using a payload.
SpaceX isn’t publicly traded yet, so not sure why you’re mentioning stocks. Also not sure what consequences you’re expecting since it’s a private company.