航天史番外：阿尔忒弥斯计划的前世今生

·34 min·3 clips

Why did NASA's Artemis program, aiming to return astronauts to the Moon, emerge from the tragic 2003 Columbia shuttle disaster?

The episode begins by linking the Artemis program to the 2003 Columbia shuttle disaster, which exposed the shuttle's high costs and lack of crew escape systems. NASA's subsequent Constellation plan aimed for a 2020 Moon return using new Ares rockets and the Orion capsule, but it faced major technical issues. The Ares I rocket had dangerous vibration problems due to its solid rocket booster design, while the heavy-lift Ares V struggled with weight growth and engine reliability. Constellation was canceled in 2009 due to cost and the financial crisis, but Congress preserved Orion and a scaled-down Ares V, which became the Space Launch System (SLS) to protect aerospace jobs across states. The SLS reused Space Shuttle components like RS-25 engines and solid boosters, constraining engineers. The Artemis program was officially launched under the Trump administration in 2017, with international and commercial partnerships. The SLS's development was plagued by delays, including multiple rollbacks to fix hydrogen leaks and weather issues, before its first uncrewed launch in 2022. That mission revealed cracks in Orion's heat shield, forcing a change in re-entry trajectory. The Artemis 2 crewed mission in April 2024 faced an immediate crisis when the toilet fan failed, requiring emergency repairs. The episode details the crew's diverse composition and their practice of docking maneuvers. Political pressures, particularly from President Trump's 2024 deadline, forced NASA to skip building the Lunar Gateway station and fast-track a lunar lander, selecting SpaceX's Starship. However, the host criticizes Starship as an unsuitable lander due to its height, refueling complexity, and risk of tipping over. NASA has since restructured the plan, delaying the first landing to 2028, downgrading Artemis 3 to an orbital test, and canceling the SLS's more powerful Exploration Upper Stage. The episode concludes by questioning whether the U.S. can integrate its various capabilities to beat potential Chinese competition.

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