3 NASA astronauts cast votes in US midterm elections from International Space Station
Three NASA astronauts voted in the 2026 US midterms from the ISS, using secure electronic ballots sent to Texas election officials.
NASA's Artemis IV mission to the moon will be complex, particularly if SpaceX's Starship is utilized as the lunar lander. Determining the exact number of Starship refueling flights needed to accomplish the mission remains uncertain. Initial estimates ranged from 16 to 22, but SpaceX CEO Elon Musk later stated that it would likely be closer to six or eight.
The refueling process itself remains unclear. NASA's graphic outlines the mission's sequence, which includes a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket launching astronauts into high Earth orbit, where they will dock with the Starship lunar lander. Two astronauts will stay on Orion while the other two descend to the lunar surface in Starship.
After their lunar excursion, they will return to the lander and rendezvous with Orion in lunar orbit to head back to Earth. Initially, a depot ship will be launched to low Earth orbit to store fuel for Starship, which will later depart for its first refueling stop in a higher orbit called the final tanking orbit (FTO). Additional tanker ships will then refuel the depot, which will return to Starship for a final fuel transfer before ascending to high Earth orbit for its rendezvous with Orion.
While this refueling procedure appears intricate, NASA claims it offers greater flexibility in scheduling SLS launches. However, the exact refueling plan is still unconfirmed, and alternative landers like Blue Origin's Blue Moon may be considered if SpaceX faces challenges.
Written by urgent.news from Space.com's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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