SpaceX lands NASA launch contract for mission to Jupiter's moon Europa

[Elderberry]

Reuters 7/24/2024

NASA on Friday said it had selected SpaceX to launch a planned voyage to Jupiter's icy moon Europa, a huge win for Elon Musk's company as it sets its sights deeper into the solar system.

The Europa Clipper mission will launch in October 2024 on a Falcon Heavy rocket from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with the total contract worth $178 million.

The mission was previously supposed to take off on NASA's own Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which has been plagued by delays and cost overruns, with critics calling it a "jobs program" for the state of Alabama where much of the development work is taking place.

While SLS isn't yet operational, Falcon Heavy has deployed on both commercial and government missions since its maiden flight in 2018 when it carried Musk's own Tesla Roadster into space.

More: https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/spacex-lands-nasa-launch-contract-mission-jupiters-moon-europa-2021-07-24/

[Elderberry]

NASA selects SpaceX for mission to Jupiter moon Europa

https://phys.org/news/2021-07-nasa-spacex-mission-jupiter-moon.html

The mission was previously supposed to take off on NASA's own Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which has been plagued by delays and cost overruns, with critics calling it a "jobs program" for the state of Alabama where much of the development work is taking place.

While SLS isn't yet operational, Falcon Heavy has deployed on both commercial and government missions since its maiden flight in 2018 when it carried Musk's own Tesla Roadster into space.

[Elderberry]

SpaceX to launch the Europa Clipper mission for a bargain price

Decision comes after shaking issue with SLS rocket made it untenable.

ARS Technica by Eric Berger - 7/23/2021

https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/07/spacex-to-launch-the-europa-clipper-mission-for-a-bargain-price/

The total contract award amount for launch services is approximately $178 million, NASA said in a news release. This is a significant moment for SpaceX, as the company will be entrusted with one of NASA's highest-priority exploration missions. The deal also saves NASA about $2 billion.

The selection of a launch vehicle for this ambitious mission has been subjected to a long, drawn-out political process. Originally, at the urging of Congress, NASA planned to launch the spacecraft on its Space Launch System rocket. There were two reasons for this. Legislators (particularly US Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala.) wanted to find additional missions for the SLS rocket. And second, the powerful SLS rocket had the ability to get the Clipper to Jupiter within about four years.

However, many in the scientific community preferred to launch on SpaceX's Falcon Heavy for a variety of reasons. For one, SpaceX offered launch services at a steep discount compared to the SLS rocket, which the White House estimated would cost more than $2 billion for the Clipper mission. Scientists were also concerned that the oft-delayed SLS rocket would simply not be ready for a 2024 launch date, and selecting it would delay the science mission.

However, politicians continued to insist that NASA launch Clipper on the SLS rocket. Three different events finally forced legislators to relent. First, in late 2018, NASA scientists concluded that the Falcon Heavy could complete the Clipper mission without needing a gravity assist from Venus, and therefore it would not have to go into the inner Solar System. The Falcon Heavy could do so with the addition of a Star 48 "kick stage." (United Launch Alliance's Delta IV Heavy rocket would have necessitated a Venus flyby, significantly increasing the thermal shielding needed on the Clipper spacecraft, so it was eventually ruled out.)

[dfwgator]

[Gefn]

Dang! My first thought too!