SpaceX changes Moon flight scheme: Starship becomes a space tug

SpaceX, founded by Elon Musk, has proposed a completely new and improved architecture for the Moon landing mission as part of NASA's Artemis program. According to the new concept, the Starship spacecraft will not just be a landing module, but a powerful tug that delivers the crew directly from Earth orbit to the Moon. This change serves to increase mission safety and reduce technical complexities. This is reported by Ixbt.com reports .

According to the previous plan, astronauts in the Orion spacecraft and the Starship landing module were supposed to meet and dock in lunar orbit. However, according to ixbt.com, SpaceX now proposes to carry out this critical process in Earth orbit. This means that the Orion spacecraft will dock with Starship near Earth, after which Starship will use its engines to lead the entire complex toward the Moon.

A new stage of safety and efficiency

The main advantage of the new scheme is safety. The most critical operation, spacecraft docking, will be performed in Earth orbit, where there is a possibility of rapid astronaut recovery in any emergency. Furthermore, if a problem occurs on the lunar surface, astronauts will be able to start their return home faster without long waits.

The fuel issue also plays an important role in this update. The direct route reduces energy consumption, which decreases the number of additional flights required to refuel the Starship in space. Although SpaceX has not yet disclosed exact numbers, the number of tanker ships is expected to decrease significantly.

The new architecture solves another technical problem: Starship no longer needs to wait for the crew in lunar orbit for a long time. A fully fueled Starship will wait in Earth orbit until Orion is ready and then they will depart together. This simplifies system requirements and saves spacecraft resources.

Starship V3 and future plans

NASA representatives note that this approach brings the Starship closer to its mass-produced serial version. The Starship V3 modification, specifically developed for the Artemis 3 mission, is planned to fly based on this new scheme. This accelerates the process of creating the lunar landing module.

If this proposed scheme proves itself in tests, it could become the primary standard for all future NASA crewed missions. This brings not only the return to the Moon but also future long-distance flights to Mars much closer.