Elon Musk's ambitious plan to return Americans to the Moon is facing renewed scrutiny after a string of mishaps involving SpaceX's massive Starship rocket, raising fresh doubts about whether NASA can meet President Donald Trump's aggressive lunar timetable, The Telegraph reported Wednesday.
In the predawn hours of a late November test in Texas, SpaceX engineers were conducting routine structural checks on Starship's upgraded Super Heavy booster when the rocket suddenly ruptured, cracking open and releasing clouds of gas across the Boca Chica launch site.
SpaceX described the incident as an "anomaly" and said no one was injured. But it was the latest setback for the rocket system central to NASA's plans to put humans back on the Moon for the first time since 1972.
Starship, standing nearly 400 feet tall, is the cornerstone of NASA's Artemis III mission, which aims to land astronauts on the lunar surface and reassert American leadership in space amid growing competition from China.
Trump has made the Moon program a priority in his second term, issuing an executive order demanding a return by 2028 and calling for a permanent lunar outpost by 2030.
Yet Starship's development has been rocky. In early 2025, three consecutive test flights failed, including one explosion shortly after liftoff that forced aircraft in the Caribbean to divert around falling debris.
Another test in June ended with the rocket detonating on the launch pad, damaging the facility. Although SpaceX regained some momentum with two successful tests in August and October, the next flight is not expected until early 2026.
NASA's timeline is already tight. Artemis II, scheduled for February, will send astronauts on a crewed flyby of the Moon using NASA's Space Launch System as a rehearsal. Artemis III, however, is far more complex.
Astronauts would travel toward the Moon aboard the SLS, then transfer in lunar orbit to a modified Starship — known as the Human Landing System — for descent to the lunar surface.
Unlike during the Apollo era, Starship cannot complete the mission with a single launch. Its lunar lander must be refueled in Earth orbit, requiring roughly a dozen successful Starship launches before astronauts ever head for the Moon.
Supporters argue the payoff could be enormous: a fully reusable system capable of repeated lunar missions at far lower cost.
Critics are less convinced.
A NASA safety panel has warned the program could be "years late," while former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine has called Artemis III "extraordinarily complex" and suggested the U.S. may struggle to beat China back to the Moon.
NASA has begun signaling openness to alternatives. Acting administrator Sean Duffy said the lunar lander contract could be opened to competition, potentially benefiting Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, which is developing its own lunar spacecraft.
Although Duffy has since been replaced by Jared Isaacman, a former SpaceX astronaut, Isaacman has indicated NASA will back whichever system can deliver results the fastest.
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