A safety advisor from NASA has raised concerns regarding SpaceX's ability to have its Starship lunar lander ready for the 2027 Artemis 3 mission. The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel highlighted that the specific version of SpaceX's human landing system could encounter delays of several years. These potential setbacks stem mainly from challenges in validating cryogenic propellant transfer technology, as well as from delays in the development of the Starship 3.0 iteration and incomplete enhancements to the Raptor engine.

While the panel acknowledges SpaceX's proven track record with high-frequency Falcon 9 rocket launches, particularly those driven by its 'Starlink' initiative, it cautions that the competing priorities between advancing the Starship project and perfecting the human landing system could disrupt the Artemis program's schedule. Moreover, panel member Bill Wray expressed apprehensions about the broader Artemis program. He noted that the trajectory for Artemis 3 and subsequent missions remains unclear, with overly ambitious timelines set for both the human landing system and the new lunar spacesuits being developed by Axiom Space. The advisory panel will persist in its thorough evaluation of the Starship human landing system project.