Lockheed Martin specialists have completed assembly and testing of the Orion spacecraft designed for the Artemis II mission. On May 1, it was officially transferred to NASA.
The Artemis II mission will take place next year. During it, the Orion spacecraft with four astronauts on board will fly around the Moon on a free-return trajectory and return to Earth. The flight will last ten days. This expedition will be the first manned mission beyond Earth orbit since 1972.
Despite the complex budget situation and concerns about the possible reduction or even closure of the Artemis program, NASA continues to actively prepare for the upcoming mission. The transition of Orion is a very important milestone on the way to mission realization.
Orion will soon be transported to the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at Cape Canaveral. There it will undergo final tests. Next, the spacecraft will be refueled and loaded with water, oxygen, supplies and other necessary materials. The spacecraft will also be fitted with an emergency abort system. After all these operations are completed, Orion will be delivered to the Vertical Assembly Building, where it will be installed on the SLS rocket.
All SLS components are already in the Vertical Assembly Building and NASA specialists are preparing them for the upcoming launch. They recently replaced one of its first stage engines.
Artemis II is currently scheduled to launch in early April 2026. The mission crew has already been confirmed and consists of three American and one Canadian astronaut. Gregory Wiseman (NASA) was appointed commander, Victor Glover (NASA) was appointed pilot, and Christina Cook (NASA) and Jeremy Hansen (CSA) were appointed flight specialists.
According to prnewswire.com
