$4B per SLS launch? That’s not a program, it’s theater.
Single-vehicle Starship architecture still makes the most sense.
EUS at $2.8B screams schedule slip and cost creep.
New Glenn upper stage swap dies at the VAB door.
Centaur V on SLS is clever, but messy integration.
Starship HLS feels half a Starship—no heat shield, no flaps.
Maintain in lunar orbit? Good luck swapping Raptors up there.
Bring the ship home, refurb on Earth, relaunch—simple.
Orion’s ESM is underpowered; nobody wants to say it.
Ocean splashdowns are expensive nostalgia at this point