NASA Major Lunar Gateway Plan Changed! SpaceX Starship Instead of Dragon XL…
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NASA Major Lunar Gateway Plan Changed! SpaceX Starship Instead of Dragon XL…
NASA is phasing out Artemis’s key systems—SLS, Orion, and the Lunar Gateway. Honestly, no surprise for a program known more for delays and ballooning costs.
But here’s the twist: this shake-up could also take down one of SpaceX’s most exciting spacecraft—Dragon XL. This isn’t just a bigger Dragon—it’s a deep-space cargo vehicle, purpose-built for lunar missions, and designed to change how we handle logistics beyond Earth.
So… is this truly the end of Dragon XL? Or could it still find a future beyond Artemis?
Let’s unpack it all, right here on TechMap.
NASA Major Lunar Gateway Plan Changed! SpaceX Starship Instead of Dragon XL…
More than a decade ago, in quiet rooms of NASA's headquarters, a strange idea was taking shape:
"What if we could grab an asteroid... and park it near Earth?"
It sounded like something out of a sci-fi novel. And during the Obama years, that wild idea began to take form.
But as time passed, the asteroid dream faded. Too complicated. Too costly.
Still, NASA was left with the skeleton of a plan: a small station in deep space.
NASA Major Lunar Gateway Plan Changed! SpaceX Starship Instead of Dragon XL…
Then came a change in leadership—and a shift in vision. The Trump administration said:
"Forget the asteroid. Let’s take this outpost... and move it around the Moon."
Just like that, the Lunar Gateway was born.
It isn’t designed to be a sprawling space city, it’s actually just about one-sixth the mass of the International Space Station. But what it lacks in size, it makes up for in purpose, offering a much more spacious and functional environment compared to the tight quarters of the Orion capsule or lunar landers.
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