Are technical issues slowing things down?
#1 | Posted by LampLighter

I know they recently delayed the launch of Artemis II due to fuel leaks during a test.

Sounds like subcontractors aren't doing a good job of fulfilling their end of the bargain.

It also seems ambitious to go from unmanned launch to manned lunar orbit to lunar landing. I'm surprised they aren't modeling this program off of Apollo where it was very incremental to ensure the next required step of the process could be done successfully before moving on to the next stage. An assumption of proficiency because it succeeded 50+ years ago seems wildly irresponsible.

Fun fact. Apollo 10's mission was to fly low over the lunar surface and then ascend to rendezvous with the command module. The LM was intentionally underfueled to ensure the crew wouldn't go for a landing since at their lowest they were only a couple dozen kilometers from the surface and NASA was afraid the competitive and daring nature of the guys flying the missions would make it too tempting. So, the guys on 10 had a choice: mission as planned and go home or deviate, land and stay.

I think most of them were, actually.