SLS is a huge waste of money. Just one main booster engine costs more than an entire Starship. Admittedly the upper stage starship would have to be refueled to reach the moon requiring several launches to a space fuel depot. But would still be much cheaper than the fully disposable SLS.
It's a total waste of time and money. Astronauts need to spend a LOT more time to match the orbit of the LG and then run the risks involved with rendezvous and docking for NO benefit whatsoever. Also, as a communication centre, this can be better, more economically, and more efficiently done with communications satellites in lunar orbit. NASA is building the LG for political reasons and to give the SLS something to do.
It makes Artemis an internation project and thus, much harder to cancel. Granted it is functionally pointless until very late in the program but still, it's doing its helping beat bureaucracy
@@notgreg123 The Lunar Gateway will never become functionally useful and it isn't "beating" bureaucracy, it's "enabling" rampant bureaucracy in multiple countries! An LG is actually a hindrance to a manned landing on the Moon because amongst other things of the extra time it will take to rendezvous with it while it provides nothing in return. It might eventually become a technological marvel, but a functional one?... never.
SLS is a huge waste of money. Just one main booster engine costs more than an entire Starship. Admittedly the upper stage starship would have to be refueled to reach the moon requiring several launches to a space fuel depot. But would still be much cheaper than the fully disposable SLS.
And yet SLS is significantly cheaper than any rocket NASA has ever used, it’s going to be used and there isn’t really any use complaining about it.
It's a total waste of time and money. Astronauts need to spend a LOT more time to match the orbit of the LG and then run the risks involved with rendezvous and docking for NO benefit whatsoever. Also, as a communication centre, this can be better, more economically, and more efficiently done with communications satellites in lunar orbit. NASA is building the LG for political reasons and to give the SLS something to do.
It makes Artemis an internation project and thus, much harder to cancel. Granted it is functionally pointless until very late in the program but still, it's doing its helping beat bureaucracy
@@notgreg123 The Lunar Gateway will never become functionally useful and it isn't "beating" bureaucracy, it's "enabling" rampant bureaucracy in multiple countries! An LG is actually a hindrance to a manned landing on the Moon because amongst other things of the extra time it will take to rendezvous with it while it provides nothing in return. It might eventually become a technological marvel, but a functional one?... never.