this post was submitted on 07 Apr 2026
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And we "only" had to wait half a century since the last one, during which so much money was blown up in wars that it would have paid for this mission hundred-fold.
yeah but i've heard a nice explanation that basically the last 50 years were spent on developing IT, which we need for better rockets. so instead of flying with rockets directly in 1970, we paused, developed computers that can do meaningful and complex navigation, and then built rockets.
Before the Soviet space race started, NASA had plans to do a couple flybys then build a base that would become a shipyard for deeper space exploration so it’s kind of a “best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago” situation but still amazing to see every stage complete successfully. That’s great news for Artemis III
Artemis III is not heading to the moon though.
Yeah but what about the wars????
How are we supposed to fund them if we're doing stuff that's good for all of mankind?!?!
Plus it's done using re-used parts which will just become single-use: https://old-man-par.com/2026/01/21/previously-flow-components-of-artemis-ii/
Oldest one first flown on STS-5 in 1982.