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A Biden campaign spokesman pointed to earlier remarks from Biden. In August, after SpaceX launched and returned the first astronauts from U.S. soil on a trip to the ISS in nearly a decade, Biden said he looked forward to “leading a bold space program that will continue to send astronaut heroes to expand our exploration and scientific frontiers.”
Representatives for Blue Origin and Boeing declined to comment. SpaceX and the Trump campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
FIGHT OVER BOEING ROCKET
But the Biden space group is divided on what to do about Boeing’s SLS, several sources said.
The super heavy-lift rocket has been beset by development delays and cost overruns, but supports tens of thousands of jobs in Alabama and California and is seen by backers as central to NASA’s exploration plans and the only path to Trump’s 2024 timeline for the Artemis mission.
Critics say the rocket’s aging technology and launch costs of $1 billion or more per mission should prompt a formal White House or Congressional review of the program, particularly if SpaceX and Blue Origin are able to offer new rockets at lower cost.
It costs as little as $90 million to fly Musk’s massive but still less-powerful Falcon Heavy, and some $350 million per launch for United Launch Alliance’s legacy Delta IV Heavy.
Whether a Biden space policy would be more friendly to SLS or to newer commercial alternatives from “new space” players will be heavily influenced by his choice for NASA administrator, a role the campaign wants to be filled by a woman, two people said.
NASA views SLS as its only human-rated ride to the moon in the near term, said Doug Loverro, the former NASA head of human spaceflight.
“But is that the long-term direction to continue to pursue?” Loverro asked. (Reporting by Joey Roulette in Washington, D.C. and Eric M Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Greg Mitchell and Edward Tobin)
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMidWh0dHBzOi8vZmluYW5jaWFscG9zdC5jb20vcG1uL2J1c2luZXNzLXBtbi93aHktbmFzYXMtbW9vbnNob3QtYm9laW5nLWJlem9zLWFuZC1tdXNrLWhhdmUtYS1sb3QtcmlkaW5nLW9uLXUtcy1lbGVjdGlvbtIBAA?oc=5
2020-10-30 10:03:36Z
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