NRHO docking between Orion and HLS is a choreography test.
Tanker cadence will define whether 2027 is plausible.
Depot boil-off control is as hard as transfer.
Lunar South Pole ops need sunlight and comms—NRHO fits.
Starship’s reusability matters only if turnaround is fast.
We’re not repeating Apollo; we’re building a base class.
Human-rating Starship HLS is the real certification mountain.
Refuel, translunar, loiter, descend—every leg adds failure modes.
NASA’s risk posture forces thousands of ground tests.
Apollo had speed; today has software, redundancy, and audits