NASA Lunar Lander Program: Senate Budget Committee Directs Selection of Two Developers

The Ongoing Story of the Human Landing System

The debate surrounding the Human Landing System (HLS) continues to unfold. A draft of the appropriations bill governing NASA’s fiscal year 2022 budget has been released by Senators.

This draft directs NASA to choose two teams for the HLS program. However, it only allocates an additional $100 million to facilitate this selection.

Funding Details

The total allocated funding for the HLS program would reach $1.295 billion. NASA’s overall budget for the upcoming fiscal year is set at $24.83 billion.

The bill stipulates that NASA should “ensure redundancy and competition,” including substantial support for research, development, testing, and evaluation for a minimum of two HLS teams. The Senate committee emphasizes a need for genuine development investments, rather than further studies.

While the directive is unambiguous, questions remain regarding NASA’s ability to fund two HLS teams with the provided budgetary increase.

Background on the HLS Program

The HLS is a crucial component of NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the Moon after a hiatus since the Apollo missions. In April, NASA initially selected SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, as the sole developer of the lunar landing vehicle for the Artemis program.

SpaceX prevailed over Dynetics and a “national team” comprised of Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Draper.

Historically, NASA has typically engaged at least two vendors to foster competition and mitigate risks associated with single-source projects. This approach was utilized successfully with the Commercial Crew program for the International Space Station, awarding contracts to both SpaceX and Boeing for astronaut transport spacecraft.

Therefore, the agency’s decision to select only SpaceX represented a departure from established practices.

Protests and Challenges

Since April, Blue Origin has actively contested NASA’s decision. Their initial protest was filed with the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and subsequently, following the GAO’s dismissal of the protest, a complaint was lodged with a federal claims court.

Cost Considerations

NASA maintains that SpaceX’s proposal was chosen due to its technical strength and cost-effectiveness. SpaceX’s bid came in at $2.9 billion, significantly lower than Blue Origin’s ($5.9 billion) and Dynetics’ ($9 billion) proposals.

Given this substantial cost disparity, it remains uncertain how the Senate’s $100 million funding increase will enable NASA to onboard an additional team.

NASA’s Perspective

NASA administrator Bill Nelson expresses optimism that the agency will ultimately secure the necessary funding. He stated in an interview with SpaceNews that, despite current disagreements, NASA will receive the funds it requires.

Looking Ahead

The bill emphasizes that having at least two teams providing services should be the ultimate outcome of the current development program. Should this version of the bill be enacted – which is contingent upon negotiations with the House – NASA will be required to present a plan to Congress and the public within 30 days, detailing how it intends to fulfill the new directive.