Wait, are they not using Starship to refuel? If they are then that's 1 Crew ship (SLS?) + 1 Starship with 16 round trips. Considering we don't know the failure rate for refueling with Starship, they might need 2-3 Starship rockets.
Actually, are they going to be refueling in orbit with crew on board? Or are they launching a rocket into orbit and refueling it, then launching another rocket with the crew to dock with the fueled rocket?
> NASA says SpaceX’s next Starship flight could test refueling tech
> In 2020, NASA announced agreements with four companies—Lockheed Martin, United Launch Alliance, SpaceX, and a Florida-based startup named Eta Space—to prove capabilities in the area of refueling and propellant depots using cryogenic propellants.
Ah, it's first come first served.
> without astronauts onboard. Once that is successful, NASA will clear Starship for a crew landing on the agency's Artemis III mission, marking the astronauts' return to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972.
So it seems they'll use a Starship for crew as well?
Actually, are they going to be refueling in orbit with crew on board? Or are they launching a rocket into orbit and refueling it, then launching another rocket with the crew to dock with the fueled rocket?
> NASA says SpaceX’s next Starship flight could test refueling tech
> https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38612585
> In 2020, NASA announced agreements with four companies—Lockheed Martin, United Launch Alliance, SpaceX, and a Florida-based startup named Eta Space—to prove capabilities in the area of refueling and propellant depots using cryogenic propellants.
Ah, it's first come first served.
> without astronauts onboard. Once that is successful, NASA will clear Starship for a crew landing on the agency's Artemis III mission, marking the astronauts' return to the lunar surface for the first time since 1972.
So it seems they'll use a Starship for crew as well?