Summary
Elon Musk and his advisers are pressuring Trump to cancel NASA’s $24 billion Space Launch System (SLS), citing high costs and outdated technology.
GOP lawmakers from Alabama and Texas oppose the move due to job losses and national security concerns.
Critics favor SpaceX’s cheaper, reusable Starship, but supporters argue SLS has already flown successfully and is more powerful.
Former NASA administrator Bill Nelson believes SLS will survive, as Trump likely wants to be the president who oversees the next moon landing.
Agreed, though I’m still interested in some “assemble in orbit” lunar architectures. No need to lug the whole Starship out there, but it can put significant mass into orbit. You could build an Apollo style lander out of three or four launched components, I suspect.
https://medium.com/@ToryBrunoULA/the-secrets-of-rocket-design-revealed-e2c7fc89694c
This is a pretty good article that gets into the nitty gritty of some of the issues. Disclaimer: it’s written by the CEO of SpaceX’s main competition but he’s well regarded in the industry.