Musk might want to be careful what he wishes for. Whilst it’s true NASA and companies various have been messing around with EMU various for several decades it’s also true that producing a multi/extended use suit for use in the Lunar environment is very much a non-trivial task.

Yes, SpaceX should definitely stick to their current trivial tasks.

Well it would certainly be interesting whether Mr Musk was just chucking in the comment as a bit of a dig at NASA or whether they have actually done any work on such suits.

NASA do seem to have caught themselves out shilly shallying over suit requirements and specs, not recognizing the time pressure, but then again a lot of very smart people and organizations have looked at the EMU vs. Lunar environment problem.

Ask them to produce a limited use, low pressure suit, perhaps tailor made for a single user and they’ll go :ok: . Ask them to produce something guaranteed to be good for several dozen outings ( at least), remotely maintainable and adaptable to people of various sizes and you get more of a :bored:.

So ..has Elon got something up his sleeve..:E

It does make one wonder what the hell have they been doing all this time?

Rockets and spacecraft are only part of what is needed for Elon to reach his goal of Mars. I'd assume they are working the other needs behind the scenes. Of course we don't know this to be true. Will be exciting to watch.

NASA? Haven’t read the full piece Musk is responding to yet but I’d say it’s all down to lacks of funds and no “hard” deadline (..”by the end of the decade”) so certain decisions, such as those regarding EMUs kept being kicked down the road…if the EMU becomes the pacing item on the whole return to the Moon project then :rolleyes:…

There’s been talk of replacing the current suit (late 70s/early 80s origin) used on the ISS for umpteen years but they’ve limped along…every year in Aviation Week or similar or so you’d see some new concept suit, rigid torso/soft torso, waist entry/rear entry :oh:, you name it somebody would think of some fancy option but it appears nobody would make a decision or stump up the cash because the current suit worked...

It’s not a throwaway remark - remember SpaceX already has its own in house suit design department which designed its Dragon suits - and is one of the bidders to design a new suit for NASA….

https://www.teslarati.com/elon-musk-...acesuit-offer/

…..As it turns out, SpaceX is already one of around two dozen “interested parties” [PDF] active in NASA’s new xEVAS (Exploration Extravehicular Activity Services) program – an effort to commandeer the spectacular success of commercial cargo and crew programs to replace half-century-old spacesuits. xEVAS has currently released a draft Request for Proposal (RFP) and is awaiting responses to that draft until mid-August before releasing the true RFP in mid-September.

Interested parties will then have until mid-October to submit proposals to design and build modern EVA (extravehicular activity) spacesuits capable of supporting astronauts on the lunar surface and on spacewalks in Earth orbit.

NASA says it will then take a full five (or seven) months to review those proposals, downselect, and reward at least one or two contracts – hopefully resulting in two redundant EVA systems much like the 2+ redundant providers NASA chose to support its Commercial Crew (CCP) and Cargo Resupply Services (CRS) programs.

Over the last decade and a half, NASA has been very gradually working on its own next-generation EVA suits. Known as “xEMU,” the program has been less than smooth, running into multiple issues, funding shortfalls, and delays over the years.

NASA OIG’s August 10th, 2021 report [PDF] says that the minimum two xEMU suits needed to support a planned crewed Moon landing as early as 2024 are almost certainly not going to be ready by 2024 after COVID-19, funding shortfalls, and technical difficulties recently delayed the program by almost two years. The office estimates that those NASA-built EVA suits will be ready absolutely no earlier than April 2025.

However, in April 2021, NASA kicked off its brand new xEVAS program – a program that strongly implies that the agency is all but giving up on building its own xEMU EVA suits.

While it appears that the agency still plans to build six of its own xEMU suits as a hedge against its innovative, unprecedented xEVAS EVA-suits-as-a-service program, there’s a chance that NASA’s prospective commercial providers could help mitigate or outright prevent spacesuit availability from delaying humanity’s return to the Moon……

Thanks for the info ORAC.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/nasa-halts...230658356.html

NASA halts SpaceX work on lunar lander after Blue Origin suit

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - NASA agreed on Thursday to temporarily halt work on a $2.9 billion lunar lander contract awarded to Elon Musk's SpaceX after rival billionaire businessman Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin sued the U.S government, an agency spokeswoman said.

Blue Origin has said its lawsuit filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims last week, was "an attempt to remedy the flaws in the acquisition process found in NASA's Human Landing System." A U.S. judge has set an Oct. 14 hearing on the case.

NASA said in a statement it paused work with SpaceX on the human landing system through Nov. 1.

"In exchange for this temporary stay of work, all parties agreed to an expedited litigation schedule that concludes on Nov. 1," the U.S. space agency said. "NASA officials are continuing to work with the Department of Justice to review the details of the case and look forward to a timely resolution of this matter."

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) last month sided with NASA over its decision to pick a single lunar lander provider, rejecting Blue Origin's protest.

SpaceX, headed by Tesla Inc's CEO Musk, this week intervened in the lawsuit to ensure that the court "has a complete and accurate picture of the facts and circumstances surrounding this protest, including the substantial harm that SpaceX will suffer if the court grants the relief sought" by Blue Origin.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment……

Return to the Moon project halted by court case…how 21st Century…:bored:

.:cool:


https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....7d243bb24e.gif

Things definitely not happy within the work force at Blue Origin…

https://arstechnica.com/science/2021...-protest-nasa/

https://www.businessinsider.com/blue...f-bezos-2021-8