22 Starship launches needed to support a Moon landing

The Artemis Program is still a moving target when it comes to the number of Starship launches required to support a Moon landing. NASA has been reluctant to give a definitive number, but a new estimate suggests that 22 launches are needed. This would require SpaceX to launch a depot Starship and 21 tanker Starships to fully load it with liquid oxygen and methane propellant for a lunar voyage. This number is a concern for some NASA officials, who worry that SpaceX may not be able to meet the deadline for the Artemis Program this decade. The hope has always been that SpaceX would improve the lift capacity of Starship to bring down the number of tanker flights, but this may not be happening soon enough to allow Starship to play a meaningful role in returning humans to the Moon for NASA as part of Artemis this decade.

The number of Starship launches required to support a Moon landing has been a moving target over the years. The general response from NASA has typically been that they don’t know for sure, so they’re not going to say. In 2023, Lisa Watson-Morgan, the then-director of NASA’s Human Landing System, told Ars that they have a general idea, but she was reluctant to say exactly what that is. Later, she said the number was in the ‘high single digits to the low double digits,’ which suggests about a dozen launches. SpaceX would need to launch a depot Starship, and then 11 tanker Starships to fully load it with liquid oxygen and methane propellant for a lunar voyage. Other officials have said ‘high teens.’ The hope has always been that SpaceX would dramatically improve the lift capacity of Starship to bring down the number of tanker flights.

A new estimate suggests that 22 Starship launches are needed to support a Moon landing. This would require SpaceX to launch a depot Starship and 21 tanker Starships to fully load it with liquid oxygen and methane propellant for a lunar voyage. This number is a concern for some NASA officials, who worry that SpaceX may not be able to meet the deadline for the Artemis Program this decade. The hope has always been that SpaceX would improve the lift capacity of Starship to bring down the number of tanker flights, but this may not be happening soon enough to allow Starship to play a meaningful role in returning humans to the Moon for NASA as part of Artemis this decade.

The Artemis Program is still a moving target when it comes to the number of Starship launches required to support a Moon landing. NASA has been reluctant to give a definitive number, but a new estimate suggests that 22 launches are needed. This would require SpaceX to launch a depot Starship and 21 tanker Starships to fully load it with liquid oxygen and methane propellant for a lunar voyage. This number is a concern for some NASA officials, who worry that SpaceX may not be able to meet the deadline for the Artemis Program this decade. The hope has always been that SpaceX would improve the lift capacity of Starship to bring down the number of tanker flights, but this may not be happening soon enough to allow Starship to play a meaningful role in returning humans to the Moon for NASA as part of Artemis this decade.

The number of Starship launches required to support a Moon landing has been a moving target over the years. The general response from NASA has typically been that they don’t know for sure, so they’re not going to say. In 2023, Lisa Watson-Morgan, the then-director of NASA’s Human Landing System, told Ars that they have a general idea, but she was reluctant to say exactly what that is. Later, she said the number was in the ‘high single digits to the low double digits,’ which suggests about a dozen launches. SpaceX would need to launch a depot Starship, and then 11 tanker Starships to fully load it with liquid oxygen and methane propellant for a lunar voyage. Other officials have said ‘high teens.’ The hope has always been that SpaceX would dramatically improve the lift capacity of Starship to bring down the number of tanker flights.

A new estimate suggests that 22 Starship launches are needed to support a Moon landing. This would require SpaceX to launch a depot Starship and 21 tanker Starships to fully load it with liquid oxygen and methane propellant for a lunar voyage. This number is a concern for some NASA officials, who worry that SpaceX may not be able to meet the deadline for the Artemis Program this decade. The hope has always been that SpaceX would improve the lift capacity of Starship to bring down the number of tanker flights, but this may not be happening soon enough to allow Starship to play a meaningful role in returning humans to the Moon for NASA as part of Artemis this decade.

The Artemis Program is still a moving target when it comes to the number of Starship launches required to support a Moon landing. NASA has been reluctant to give a definitive number, but a new estimate suggests that 22 launches are needed. This would require SpaceX to launch a depot Starship and 21 tanker Starships to fully load it with liquid oxygen and methane propellant for a lunar voyage. This number is a concern for some NASA officials, who worry that SpaceX may not be able to meet the deadline for the Artemis Program this decade. The hope has always been that SpaceX would improve the lift capacity of Starship to bring down the number of tanker flights, but this may not be happening soon enough to allow Starship to play a meaningful role in returning humans to the Moon for NASA as part of Artemis this decade.

The number of Starship launches required to support a Moon landing has been a moving target over the years. The general response from NASA has typically been that they don’t know for sure, so they’re not going to say. In 2023, Lisa Watson-Morgan, the then-director of NASA’s Human Landing System, told Ars that they have a general idea, but she was reluctant to say exactly what that is. Later, she said the number was in the ‘high single digits to the low double digits,’ which suggests about a dozen launches. SpaceX would need to launch a depot Starship, and then 11 tanker Starships to fully load it with liquid oxygen and methane propellant for a lunar voyage. Other officials have said ‘high teens.’ The hope has always been that SpaceX would dramatically improve the lift capacity of Starship to bring down the number of tanker flights.