I think the article is trying to demonstrate a contrast between the "Golden Quarter" to our current quarter. Consider comparing the recently posted Orion proje

I think the article is trying to demonstrate a contrast between the "Golden Quarter" to our current quarter. Consider comparing the recently posted Orion project vs. the first moon landing. 8 years of development time to get to the moon vs. the estimated 22-27+ years development time to get to Mars [NASA said ~2030's for the actual Mars voyage]. I believe that's the point the author is trying to get across, that in our quarter, everything is moving along very slowly.