According to news on February 27, NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) project may be gradually fading. On Wednesday local time, a Republican space policy leader changed his position - for the past decade, he has always opposed replacing NASA's SLS rocket with a commercial heavy-lift launch vehicle.
Before the subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology is about to hold a hearing on U.S. space policy and the future of NASA's Artemis lunar program, Scott Pace, director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University, said in written testimony: "We need a transition plan to get rid of dependence on SLS!"
A physicist and influential policy expert, Pace has decades of experience researching and writing about space policy. He has served in multiple Republican administrations, most recently as executive secretary of the National Space Council from 2017 to 2020. After Congress directed NASA to develop the SLS rocket in 2011, Pace has been a staunch supporter of the project.
Phase out of SLS rockets
"Ideally, NASA should be able to purchase heavy-lift rocket launch services to send a payload of up to about 45 tons to the moon, which is comparable to the performance of SLSBlock2," Pace wrote in his testimony. "I have supported the development of SLS because NASA needs heavy-lift rockets." Rockets are taking humans to the moon and Mars. At the time, it seemed to me that a heavy-lift launch vehicle in the private sector would not be possible for two decades. Today, that is no longer the case, and SpaceX, Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance (ULA) all offer heavy-lift launch vehicle options.”
As part of the policy recommendations, Pace suggested that NASA should seek commercial launch service providers to achieve "multiple manned and cargo missions to the moon each year." He pointed out that the SLS rocket is not reusable and cannot achieve a high launch frequency. "It has only flown once, but it is difficult to support one flight every year, let alone the goal of two launches per year set by Congress."
Congress has long supported the SLS rocket program, in large part because of the jobs it brings to the region where NASA's headquarters and other branches are located. Essentially, the program was established to provide employment opportunities for those involved after the space shuttle program ended in 2011.
Pace’s comments may have shocked Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, chairman of the House Science Committee, who may not have anticipated the dramatic shift in attitude when he invited Pace to the hearing. Earlier this month, Babin reiterated his support for the SLS rocket program, saying "without SLS, we cannot return to the lunar surface before China does."
Parting ways with the traditional aerospace industry
Pace's remarks attracted attention because of the sharp contrast between his consistent position and current recommendations. A long-time advocate of traditional space policy, he led the design of the Artemis program framework during Trump’s first term. However, in this testimony, he made it clear: "Commercial aerospace technology must be introduced to achieve sustainability of lunar exploration."
Pace emphasized: "The revised Artemis action plan should be the top priority of NASA's new administrator. Although this may lead to painful adjustments with the traditional aerospace industry and international partners, timely transformation is far better than continuing the old path of unsustainability and runaway costs. The policy direction of the Artemis program itself is reasonable and has the support of Congress and previous governments, but it needs to be promoted in a more sustainable and credible way."
At the budget level, Pace pointed out that if NASA needs to seek funding or additional resources, it must strengthen its innovation orientation, and traditional projects should only be used as a "final backup option." He also proposed that in view of the increasing aging of the International Space Station and frequent failures, consideration could be given to early decommissioning of the facility before 2030.
In addition, Pace advocated that NASA should advance its moon and Mars goals simultaneously.
The logic of interstellar colonization
Although it is not realistic to achieve a manned Mars landing within the next five years, Pace proposed alternatives: implementing a manned Mars flyby mission during this period, or completing the return of Martian soil samples.
He systematically demonstrated the strategic significance of human expansion into the solar system and advocated that the United States should take the sustainable development of space activities and human settlement in the solar system as its long-term goal.
"In the short term, lunar bases could operate on the model of Antarctic research stations," Pace writes. "In the long term, these bases and Mars settlements may give rise to entirely new social forms—just as railroads reshaped the American desert. Despite the multiple uncertainties of technology, economics, and biology, the vision of a transplanetary species remains exciting. The goal of 'Mars' is far from a competition. It is essentially a symbol of America's future ambitions-pointing to larger and more open possibilities."