--- title: "NASA Might Send Astronauts Around the Moon on Commercial Rocket" description: "NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine suggested NASA might use a commercial rocket to boost its Orion crew capsule around the Moon in 2020." date: "2019-03-13" modified: "2019-03-13" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/nasa-sls-orion-commercial-rocket" categories: - "Astronomy" - "Moon" - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "NASA" - "orion spacecraft" - "sls" - "SpaceX" --- # NASA Might Send Astronauts Around the Moon on Commercial Rocket ![NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine suggested NASA might use a commercial rocket to boost its Orion crew capsule around the Moon in 2020.]() *\Image: NASA\* ## Private Ride NASA's several-billion-dollar Space Launch System (SLS) is on thin ice. The culprit: the enticingly low-cost and high-performance rockets of its private industry competitors. At a [Senate hearing today](), NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine suggested that NASA might use a commercial rocket to boost its Orion crew capsule around the Moon in 2020. "We need to consider, as an agency, all options to accomplish that objective," Bridenstine said of the first launch of its Orion crew capsule. "We're talking about a rocket that's taller than the Statue of Liberty with a fairing that can put really big objects into space — and into deep space." ## Delays NASA's SLS was supposed to use a massive two-stage rocket design to launch astronauts towards the Moon and even Mars. But when that will happen is hard to say. "SLS is failing to meet its schedule," Bridenstine said during the hearing. NASA initially signed a contract with Boeing to build those two stages in 2012. The first planned uncrewed test flight was scheduled for December 2017. Next time window: June 2020 — but even that date is likely to change. ## Over Budget And that's not to mention the fact that the SLS is grossly over budget. Conservative 2017 estimates pegged the cost for each launch [at $1.5 to $2.5 billion](). Estimates for the total authorized budget of the SLS is $46 billion since its conception, [according to *Ars Technica*](). To put that into perspective: the White House budget proposal for all of NASA's operations in 2020 is just [$21 billion](). Ditching the SLS altogether would be a huge admission of failure, but Bridenstine isn't about to give up on NASA. “The Space Launch System, SLS, the largest rocket that’s ever been built in American history, is a critical piece of what the United States of America needs to build,” Bridenstine said during the hearing. **READ MORE:** [NASA considers using a commercial rocket for upcoming trip around the Moon]() \[[*The Verge*\]]() More on the SLS: [How Does NASA’s New Mega-Rocket Compare to the Falcon Heavy?]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()