Two NASA Astronauts Test SpaceX's Starship Elevator For Artemis Mission

SpaceX Starship elevator testing (photo: dock. NASA)

JAKARTA Two US Aeronautics from the United States (NASA) Aeronautics, namely Nicole Mann and Douglas Harry Wheelock, participated in SpaceX's mockupeter test.

The elevator will be added to the Starship, a manned spacecraft for the Artemis III and Artemis IV missions, to transport aircraft equipment and crew. The carrier is located at the top of the plane and will pass when astronauts want to walk to the lunar surface.

Through this test, SpaceX and NASA want to see if astronauts can use the elevator design well. The feedback provided by Mann and Wheelock will be used to improve the original design of the Starship elevator.

This test allows astronauts to interact with flight-like elevator system designs, serve as functional demonstrations of hardware and provides an opportunity to receive valuable feedback, NASA wrote in its official release.

During the test, Mann and Wheelock wore NASA spacesuits. This outfit is deliberately used to see the problem of the astronaut's mobility while using an elevator on the Starship plane.

The two astronauts also provided various feedback on elevator control, such as gate hooks, ramp applicability interfaces or oblique fields to enter and exit elevator baskets, to vertical rail systems as the basket moves.

The results of this test are well received by SpaceX. The company will upgrade their elevator system so astronauts can rely on the elevator in the future, both on the way to the Moon and while on the Moon.

The Artemis III mission was originally planned to launch by the end of 2025. However, this launch could be delayed until 2027 due to the design of the Human Landing System (HLS), namely Starship, not yet perfect. What's more, two launches from Starship failed in total.