[Eric Berger] US House takes first step toward creating "commercial" deep space program

I don’t get the obsession with crewed missions. I would like for us to work on automation that can construct and prep areas for crewed later. I still think testing space elevators tech on the moon would make a lot of sense. We should be testing all kinds of things that we don’t have the materials yet for something like earth or is dangerous so we need to work it out somewhere unpopulated.

This could be huge. Artemis 3-5 require Starship HLS and Blue Moon to work. Those programs just so happen to have their own SLS replacements.

Orion would still be a big question. I’m sure SpaceX can make some mix of HLS and Dragon work even if crewed Starship launches and landings on Earth fall through. Blue is at least thinking about a crew capsule, so hopefully that pans out.

Hopefully in the next year or so we see some study contracts and steps to move on from SLS.