NASA’s new Project Artemis Moon shot is facing an outbreak of interstate rivalry between Alabama and Texas. The issue is whether Texas can take away from Alabama the program that builds the landers that take astronauts to and from the lunar surface.
NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine is scheduled to appear at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., Friday accompanied by four members of Congress. He’s expected to announce that Marshall will lead development of two of the three critical landers needed for the 2024 mission that is a priority of the Trump administration.
But Politico reported today in an exclusive that members of Congress from Texas have written a letter asking Bridenstine to reconsider. Put the programs in Texas, they argue, where the astronaut corps and mission control are based. Republican U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn along with Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas) signed the letter dated Thursday.
“The integration of development responsibilities into one center — ideally the center with the longest history and deepest institutional knowledge of human space exploration — would be the most cost-efficient, streamlined, and effective approach, and is the approach that NASA should pursue,” the lawmakers said. “‘Houston’ was one of the first words ever uttered on the Moon, and Houston, the city that last sent man to the Moon, should be where the lander that will once again send Americans to the lunar surface is developed."
Politico notes that “Cruz chairs the Senate Commerce Aviation and Space Subcommittee, which oversees NASA, and Babin is the top Republican on the House Science Space Subcommittee.” Alabama has Sen. Richard Shelby, also a Republican, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee that funds the entire government.
The mission planned for 2024 involves a rocket managed by NASA in Huntsville to get astronauts to the Moon and three additional parts: a transfer craft to get astronauts to the Gateway space station orbiting the Moon, a lander to take them to the Moon’s surface, and an “ascent” craft to get them back to the Gateway.
A report on the space media website ars technica this week said Marshall will develop the transfer and landing crafts, and Houston will develop the ascent craft. All three would be managed by a team headed by a Marshall manager.
Bridenstine is scheduled to be accompanied to Alabama by U.S. Reps. Mo Brooks and Robert Aderholt of Alabama, Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee and Brian Babin of Texas. All are Republicans.