NASA tells Blue Origin and SpaceX to start detailed designing of cargo versions of their human lunar landers. NASA always had the option to get cargo versions of the lunar landers in the original contracts. NASA is now exercising those options to get cargo landers designs to an approved preliminary design review.
The actual sizes of the SpaceX and Blue Origin lunar landers are in the image below.
The preliminary design requirements include delivering 12 to 15 metric tons to the lunar surface. The cargo lunar landers will be very similar to the human crewed lunar landers.
The European Space Agency is designing Argonaut, a cargo lander that ESA is proposing to offer for future Artemis missions. Argonaut, as currently designed, would carry about two metric tons of cargo, far less than what NASA is proposing with the cargo HLS variants.
NASA selected the two companies, along with three others, in the second round of the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program in November 2019. SpaceX offered Starship, which the company said at the time could deliver up to 100 metric tons to the lunar surface, while Blue Origin offered its original cargo version of its Blue Moon lander, capable of taking several metric tons to the moon.
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If I have one concern about the SpaceX lunar lander, it’s the high aspect ratio, between the diameter of the base, and the height of the rocket. Your illustration shows that BO’s lander has about the same footprint, while being a third as tall.
This sort of thing matters when you’re landing on an undeveloped surface.
SpaceX might want to consider equipping their lander with extended landing gear, to be installed or deployed once in space. It could always be left behind on a return flight.
I understand the desire to make the lander have as much commonality with the regular Starship as possible. But they shouldn’t rule out assembling something in orbit that’s better suited to the job, even if it has a regular Starship at its core.
Starship HLS legs vary from render to render but have mostly, albeit slowly, been increasing in radius covered.
A more current (i.e. wiki) render shows a leg radius of approx 2.5-3 meters more than the older pic above.
And: Starship general purpose transports (i.e. military) wil need sturdy landing legs even if landing on a prepped tarmac.
Therefore: Landing legs are destined to be Starship variants canon 🙂
While Falcon scale legs would be problematic because the landed mass I suspect the HLS leg radius is getting nudged along as they go.
Nasa will not tolerate a “Let’s try it without a flame diverter!” on this one.
Actually, they’ll pretty much have to, because who’s going to install the flame diverter for the first landing?
The plan, as I understand it, is to use a ring of lower power engines near the top for the final approach, so that by the time the exhaust reaches the surface it has spread enough to be incapable of excavating a hole. Aided by the lower gravity drastically reducing the thrust needed.
As per the current SpaceX illustrations, HLS legs are radial and wider than on the first drawings.
I assume they know it needs to have some support to avoid tipping over.