SCREENRANT by Joseph Scotting 8/12/2021
New details have surfaced on how SpaceX will refuel its Starship spacecraft without it needing to return to Earth. Elon Musk's space transportation company won the right to help put the first woman and person of color on the Moon as part of the Artemis Program, NASA's partnership with private companies for new lunar missions.
SpaceX was selected over other well-known space transportation companies Blue Origin and Dynetics, securing the lucrative $35 billion partnership with NASA. The first manned Moon mission is expected to take place in 2024, though that date is likely to slip based on a number of factors, including the coronavirus pandemic. The last SpaceX launch took place on June 30th, 2021 with the Transporter 2 rocket which also safely landed after liftoff.
The way the Starship spacecraft refueling operation works, according to reports, is with a multi-vehicle system, including a repurposed Starship that essentially functions as a fuel depot. Once the depot Starship reaches a stable orbit around the Earth, SpaceX will then launch eight refuel rockets which, over the course of six months, will dock with the depot Starship and gradually refill its tanks one after another over six months. Following total refueling, the Moon lander Starship will launch from Earth and dock with the depot Starship, topping it off with plenty of fuel for its mission. After that operation is complete, it would then fly towards the Moon entering a near-rectilinear halo orbit. After this, it would dock with NASA's Orion spacecraft carrying the astronauts and then land on the Moon with its crew. It is currently unclear whether the Starship would have enough fuel for continued operations after leaving the Moon.
More:
https://screenrant.com/spacex-moon-landing-starship-refueling-system/
