US private-sector space company SpaceX, founded and led by South African-born engineer and entrepreneur Elon Musk, has been awarded what is probably the most prestigious single contract in the space sector today. The US National Aeronautics and Space Agency (Nasa) has selected SpaceX to supply the Human Landing System (HLS) for the first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon. The milestone-based firm-fixed-price contract has a total value of $2.89-billion. Under it, SpaceX will land the next two American astronauts (at least one of them a woman) on the Moon, using the company’s latest design, called the Starship. This mission will be designated Artemis III, Artemis I being an uncrewed test flight and Artemis II a crewed test flight that will not involve a lunar landing.
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