NASA Takes in Orion, Begins Launch Processing for a Crewed Mission

Aerospace giant Lockheed Martin recently turned in its share of the Artemis II venture, delivering its Orion spacecraft to the NASA Exploration Ground Systems team. This will be used to take four astronauts to the moon in early 2026.

"This achievement is a testament to our employees and suppliers who have worked tirelessly to get us to this important milestone," stated Kirk Shireman, Lockheed Martin’s vice president of Human Space Exploration and Orion program manager. "The Orion spacecraft completion for Artemis II is a major step forward in our nation's efforts to develop a long-term lunar presence."

Lockheed Martin was awarded a multi-mission NASA contract for long-term production of the advanced, human-rated, deep space Orion spacecraft in September 2019. This contract, also known as the Orion Production and Operations Contract (OPOC), details up to 12 spacecraft and should keep the space agency covered well into the 2030s.

The completed Artemis II Orion spacecraft was officially delivered to NASA on May 1, 2025. It will now continue through launch processing, get propellants and other consumables loaded, and make its way onto the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket ahead of a crewed Lunar mission early next year.

Though Orion has proven itself as a capable spacecraft time and time again, Artemis II will be its first crewed mission. The platform debuted on December 5, 2014, under NASA’s Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1) mission and took its second flight through Artemis I in 2022.

To make the jump from uncrewed to crewed, Lockheed made several enhancements to the vehicle. It added systems for life support, controls, audio communications, exercise, and launch abort. High data-rate communications will be aided through an experimental laser communication system and docking sensors.

“It's exciting to think that soon, humans will see the Earth rise over the lunar horizon from our vehicle, while also traveling farther from Earth than ever before,” Shireman continued.

FMI: www.lockheedmartin.com/orion