Tag: Orion
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Proposed 24 percent cut to NASA budget eliminates key Artemis architecture, climate research
The Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters in Washington D.C. Image: NASA Update May 3, 5:22 p.m. EDT: Corrected the location of Northrop Grumman’s facility housing the HALO module for the Gateway. The White House released its proposed federal spending budget for Fiscal Year 2026 on Friday and with it a series of deep cuts to…
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White House budget seeks to end SLS, Orion, and Lunar Gateway programs
The White House released a “skinny” version of its budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 on Friday, including financial information for all federal agencies. A “skinny” budget simply means that while the document contains top-line numbers for agencies and their programs, it does not provide much in the way of specific allocations. The document was…
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After critics decry Orion heat shield decision, NASA reviewer says agency is correct
Within hours of NASA announcing its decision to fly the Artemis II mission aboard an Orion spacecraft with an unmodified heat shield, critics assailed the space agency, saying it had made the wrong decision. “Expediency won over safety and good materials science and engineering. Sad day for NASA,” Ed Pope, an expert in advanced materials…
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Artemis II rescheduled for spring of 2026 as program decides on path forward
The Artemis II mission, humanity’s first crewed mission to the vicinity of the Moon since 1972, will wait longer to get off the ground. Originally planned for September 2025, Artemis II will now fly no earlier than April 2026 but will fly with the original Orion command module and heat shield. A heat shield replacement…
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NASA is stacking the Artemis II rocket, implying a simple heat shield fix
The Space Launch System rocket that will dispatch four astronauts on the first Moon mission in more than 50 years passed a major milestone Wednesday. NASA said ground teams inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy Space Center in Florida lifted the aft assembly of the rocket’s left booster onto the mobile launch platform.…
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For some reason, NASA is treating Orion’s heat shield problems as a secret
For those who follow NASA’s human spaceflight program, when the Orion spacecraft’s heat shield cracked and chipped away during atmospheric reentry on the unpiloted Artemis I test flight in late 2022, what caused it became a burning question. Multiple NASA officials said Monday they now know the answer, but they’re not telling. Instead, agency officials…
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SLS preparations underway for Artemis II and future missions
NASA’s Space Launch System, the other Saturn V-class heavy lift vehicle launched this decade, is being prepared for its second flight and its first crew-carrying flight, even as issues with the Orion spacecraft threaten to further delay Artemis II. While Artemis II preparations are underway, future upgrades to SLS are also being worked on. Artemis…
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It’s increasingly unlikely that humans will fly around the Moon next year
Don’t book your tickets for the launch of NASA’s Artemis II mission next year just yet. We have had reason to doubt the official September 2025 launch date for the mission, the first crewed flight into deep space in more than five decades, for a while now. This is principally because NASA is continuing to…
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NASA wants clarity on Orion heat shield issue before stacking Artemis II rocket
NASA would like to start stacking the Space Launch System rocket for the Artemis II mission—the first human flight around the Moon since 1972—sometime next month, but the agency’s exploration chief says the milestone could be delayed as engineers continue studying the readiness of the Orion spacecraft’s heat shield. The heat shield, already installed at…