'The most complicated launch campaign ever': NASA lays out mad dash to test lunar landers - CNN
Source: CNN
NASA has unveiled detailed plans for what officials are calling the most complicated launch campaign in history. The agency is racing to prepare two competing lunar landers — one built by Blue Origin and one by SpaceX — alongside its own Orion spacecraft for a critical test mission in low-Earth orbit next year. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman emphasized that delays would not be tolerated, warning that agency personnel would actively step in to resolve any scheduling problems with contractors.
The test mission, designated Artemis III, was added to NASA's road map in early 2025 by Isaacman shortly after he took office. The approximately 14-day mission will require the launch of three massive rockets and multiple docking and undocking maneuvers between the crewed Orion spacecraft and the experimental lander vehicles. The primary goal is to practice critical orbital rendezvous procedures in low-Earth orbit, hundreds of miles closer to home than the moon, before committing to a crewed lunar landing.
Both Blue Origin and SpaceX hold multibillion-dollar contracts with NASA to develop vehicles capable of transporting astronauts from Orion to the lunar surface. The two companies are pursuing dramatically different engineering approaches. SpaceX's enormous Starship vehicle — a two-stage system comprising a Super Heavy booster and a 171-foot Starship spacecraft — would serve simultaneously as both the lunar lander and the rocket's upper stage, representing an unprecedented design in spaceflight history.
Blue Origin's Blue Moon Mark 2 lander takes a more conventional approach, drawing inspiration from classic lunar lander designs. Standing 52 feet tall, it is expected to launch inside the cargo bay of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket. The Artemis III test is designed to evaluate both vehicles in realistic orbital conditions, ultimately helping NASA determine which lander will be selected for Artemis IV — the mission intended to return astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972.
NASA's broader Artemis program aims to achieve a crewed lunar landing by 2028, following the Artemis III orbital test and a subsequent uncrewed mission. Isaacman stressed that the agency must resist the temptation to add time or money in hopes of eliminating risk, arguing that consistent execution is the true path to safety. The compressed timeline and extraordinary technical complexity underscore just how ambitious NASA's renewed push to the moon has become under its current leadership.
Traduction japonaise
NASAは、同機関史上最も複雑な打ち上げキャンペーンと称される計画の詳細を発表した。来年、ブルーオリジンとスペースXがそれぞれ開発した2機の月面着陸船を、NASAのオリオン宇宙船とともに低地球軌道でテストするため、猛スピードで準備が進められている。NASA長官のジャレッド・アイザックマン氏は、スケジュール遅延は一切容認しないと強調し、問題が生じれば職員が直接介入すると警告した。
アーテミスIIIと命名されたこのテストミッションは、2025年初頭にアイザックマン長官就任直後に計画へ追加された。約14日間のミッションでは、巨大ロケット3機の打ち上げと、有人オリオン宇宙船と試験機との複数回のドッキング・切り離しが必要となる。月まで約38万キロという距離と比べ、はるかに近い低地球軌道で軌道ランデブー手順を実証することが主な目的だ。
ブルーオリジンとスペースXはいずれも数十億ドル規模の契約をNASAと結び、オリオン宇宙船から月面まで宇宙飛行士を輸送する機体を開発している。両社のアプローチは大きく異なる。スペースXのスターシップは、スーパーヘビーブースターと全高約52メートルのスターシップ宇宙船から成る2段式システムで、月面着陸船とロケット上段の両方を兼ねる前例のない設計だ。
一方、ブルーオリジンのブルームーン・マーク2は、従来の月面着陸船設計に近い保守的なアプローチを採用している。全高約16メートルで、同社のニューグレンロケットの貨物ベイ内に搭載して打ち上げられる予定だ。アーテミスIIIのテストは両機体を現実的な軌道環境で評価し、1972年のアポロ17号以来初となる有人月面着陸を目指すアーテミスIVに向けた機体選定に役立てることを目的としている。
NASAのアーテミス計画全体では、アーテミスIIIの軌道テストと無人ミッションを経て、2028年までに有人月面着陸を実現することを目標としている。アイザックマン長官は、リスク回避のために時間や資金を積み増そうとする誘惑に抗う必要があると訴え、着実な実行こそが安全への真の道だと主張した。圧縮されたスケジュールと並外れた技術的複雑さは、現指導部のもとで月への挑戦がいかに野心的なものになったかを示している。
Vocabulaire clé
- mad dashidiom
A frantic or rushed effort to accomplish something within a tight timeframe.
和訳: 猛ダッシュ、必死の突貫作業
The engineering team made a mad dash to finish the prototype before the investor presentation.
- roll up one's sleevesidiom
To prepare to work hard and get directly involved in solving a difficult problem.
和訳: 袖をまくって取り組む、本腰を入れる
When the project fell behind schedule, the director rolled up her sleeves and joined the team on the factory floor.
- vetverb
To carefully examine or evaluate something to determine its suitability or quality.
和訳: 精査する、審査する
Before signing the contract, the legal team thoroughly vetted every clause for potential risks.
- cinchverb
To secure or guarantee something, often a contract or victory.
和訳: 確実に手に入れる、獲得する
The startup cinched a major government contract after a competitive bidding process.
- rendezvousnoun
A planned meeting or docking between two spacecraft in orbit.
和訳: ランデブー（宇宙船の軌道上での合流・ドッキング）
A successful orbital rendezvous requires extremely precise calculations and timing.
- delude oneselfphrase
To hold a false belief about something, often as a form of wishful thinking.
和訳: 自己欺瞞に陥る、思い込む
We shouldn't delude ourselves into thinking that the problem will resolve itself without intervention.
- hark back tophrase
To resemble or be reminiscent of something from the past.
和訳: （過去のものを）思い起こさせる、回帰する
The new building's architecture harks back to the classical style popular in the nineteenth century.
- unprecedentedadjective
Never done or experienced before; without any prior example.
和訳: 前例のない、空前の
The level of international cooperation on this climate agreement is unprecedented in diplomatic history.
- paradigm-shiftingadjective
Describing something that fundamentally changes the way a field or system operates.
和訳: パラダイムシフトをもたらす、革命的な
The invention of the smartphone was a paradigm-shifting development in personal communication.