Former Trump Adviser Calls on Revising NASA's Moon Program
(Bloomberg) -- A former space policy adviser during President Donald Trump's first administration called on NASA to revise its plans for sending humans back to the moon, suggesting the agency 'off-ramp' its reliance on Boeing Co.'s giant moon rocket.
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Scott Pace, the former executive secretary of the National Space Council during Trump's first term, said it is time that NASA start considering alternative commercial rockets to the Boeing-built Space Launch System that can send people to the vicinity of the moon and Mars.
'A primary concern is Space Launch System, which is expensive and not reusable,' Pace said during a US House of Representatives subcommittee hearing about NASA's moon plans. 'It's had one flight but has trouble meeting the congressional target of two cores per year.'
The recommendation marks a dramatic shift for Pace, who has long been a supporter of SLS. Though Pace is not directly involved with the second Trump administration, his comments represent some insight into what the incoming NASA leadership might propose for the agency's plans.
President Trump and his close adviser, SpaceX chief executive officer Elon Musk, have made repeated comments about sending humans to Mars, heightening speculation that the administration might rework NASA's Artemis program, which aims to send humans back to the moon.
Questions have also swirled about the future of NASA's SLS rocket, which is the primary rocket tapped to send humans to the vicinity of the moon for Artemis. The rocket has received significant criticism for its delayed development and costly price tag, which is expected to be nearly $24 billion through 2025. So far, SLS has only flown once without people on board, and is only expected to fly once every one to two years.
Boeing, NASA's main contractor on SLS, recently signaled concern for the future of the rocket by announcing layoffs on the program. However, Boeing reduced the amount of jobs it planned to shed after having 'daily' talks with NASA.
Pace called on making changes to the current Artemis plan to make it more consistent and sustainable.
'A revised Artemis campaign plan should be a high priority for the new administrator,' Pace said. 'There may be some painful adjustments with industry and our international partners, but it's better to do so now than to continue on an unsustainable and unaffordable path.'
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