>>13574898Engineering time is a non-factor for something so simplistic in comparison to something so enormous.
>>13574901>the biggest limiting factor will be launch permits and not having enough launch pads/facilitiesActually this could be. Still, doesn't have any bearing on the separate station vs Starship station argument.
>>13574912And to answer all three of you:
They have to build the factory and the machines to build Starship. That's going to take a while. They have to build a whole production line for a rocket. Until they have that completed they'll be stuck to producing them like they are now, just with marginal improvements along the way. They can produce them fast enough for their needs, sure, but they still can't afford to just be throwing away working articles. Not when they'll be needing them for other things at the same time.
>>13574922The HLS Starship isn't the long term solution. It's just a quick thing for getting something on the Moon before congress has the chance to kill Artemis. Both SpaceX and NASA will be in better positions for the space station and as such won't need what is effectively a stop-gap measure.
