Dynetics HLS
Lunar lander concept for NASA's Artemis program.
The Dynetics Autonomous Logistics Platform for All-Moon Cargo Access (ALPACA), or Dynetics HLS, is a crewed lunar lander design developed for NASA's Artemis program. Dynetics led the project, with Sierra Nevada Corporation as a partner, starting in 2019. NASA awarded Dynetics a one-year design study contract in April 2020. In April 2021, NASA did not select Dynetics for the initial crewed landing contract, choosing SpaceX's Starship HLS instead. Dynetics and Blue Origin protested this decision, but the Government Accountability Office upheld NASA's choice in July 2021. Later, under Appendix N for sustainable landers, Dynetics received a $40.8 million contract on September 14 to advance its design.
Quick Facts
- Design life
- 14-42 days
- Designer
- Dynetics
- Operator
- Dynetics, NASA
- Applications
- Crew and cargo lunar lander
- Crew capacity
- 2-4
- Power
- Solar
- Derivatives
- Crew; cargo variants
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- The ALPACA is designed to be launched on ULA's Vulcan Centaur rocket, requiring four more Vulcan launches for refueling or logistics.
- In September 2020, a full-scale mockup of the lander was completed to test interior layout and ingress/egress capabilities.
- Dynetics, together with Blue Origin, protested NASA's HLS award decision with the GAO through the S. 1260, also known as the US Innovation and Competitiveness Act.
- The ALPACA crew cabin can be converted into a base module or a pressurized lunar rover.
History
Dynetics was one of three organizations that developed a NASA-funded lunar lander design for the Artemis program over a year-long period in 2020–2021, starting in May 2020. The milestone-based requirements included NASA paying Dynetics US$253 million in design development funding. The other teams selected in 2020 were the 'National Team'—led by Blue Origin but including Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Draper (with US$579 million in NASA design funding)—and SpaceX (with US$135 million in NASA funding).
At the end of the ten-month program on 28 February 2021, NASA had planned to evaluate which contractors would be offered contracts for initial demonstration missions. However, on 27 January 2021, NASA informed each contractor that the program would be extended two months to end on or before 30 April 2021. In April 2021, NASA rejected the Dynetics HLS design and instead selected Starship HLS for crewed lunar lander development plus two lunar demonstration flights.
Technical weaknesses were identified in the Dynetics proposal, along with budgetary constraints. NASA indicated that Dynetics would be free to compete for subsequent missions not part of the initial two demonstration flights.
NASA technical review
The Dynetics HLS scored highest of the proposed landers in NASA's initial technical review in August 2020. The largest issue identified according to NASA was the advanced experimental thrust structure used in the Dynetics design, which could pose a threat to development time as it relies on immature technology. However, in Option A it scored the lowest. The largest issue identified was negative mass margins, meaning it wasn't able to carry out the listed mission without decreasing the mass of the lander.
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