Artemis III deep into processing and planning for key HLS test

Date:
Sun, 17 May 2026 17:29:54 +0000

Description:
NASA is deep into planning for Artemis III, a pivotal crewed mission in low Earth The post Artemis III deep into processing and planning for key HLS test appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

FULL STORY ======================================================================

NASA is deep into planning for Artemis III, a pivotal crewed mission in low Earth orbit scheduled for next year that will serve as a critical dress rehearsal for the agencys return to the Moon.

The flight will mark the first time NASA integrates multiple human-rated vehicles from commercial partners in a single campaign, testing rendezvous, docking, and operations between the Orion spacecraft and uncrewed pathfinder versions of Blue Origins Blue Moon Mark 2 and SpaceXs Starship Human Landing System (HLS).



Announced in February as an additional mission inserted into the Artemis sequence ahead of the first crewed lunar landing on Artemis IV, Artemis III shifts the focus from immediate surface operations to proving the complex choreography required for sustained lunar exploration.

By conducting these demonstrations in the relative safety of Earth orbit,
NASA and its partners aim to mitigate significant technical risks before committing crews to the lunar South Pole.

While this is a mission to Earth orbit, it is an important stepping stone to successfully landing on the Moon with Artemis IV, said Jeremy Parsons, acting assistant deputy administrator for the Moon to Mars Program in NASAs Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate.

Artemis III is one of the most complex missions NASA has ever undertaken. For the first time, NASA will coordinate a launch campaign involving multiple spacecraft and integrate new capabilities into Artemis operations.

This addition to the overall Artemis plan also gives commercial partners such as Blue Origin and SpaceX a greater incentive to maintain schedule momentum, helping to avoid the bottlenecks previously associated mainly with the SLS/Orion system. It also builds additional confidence ahead of the first crewed lunar landing.

Were integrating more partners and interrelated operations into this mission by design, Parsons added. This will help us learn how Orion, the crew, and ground teams interact with hardware and teams from both lander providers before we send astronauts to the Moons surface and eventually build a sustained lunar presence.

The mission architecture departs from previous Artemis flights in several key respects.

SLS will still lift Orion and its four-person crew from Kennedy Space Centers Launch Complex 39B. However, the rocket will fly without the Interim
Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) that served as the upper stage on Artemis I and II. SLS Core Stage for Artemis III at KSC, via NASA

In its place, engineers are fabricating a spacera non-propulsive structural element that replicates the mass properties and interface dimensions of the ICPS.

Work on the spacer is already well underway at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Teams are machining material for the barrel section as well as the upper and lower rings, with welding operations scheduled to follow soon.

The spacer will maintain the proper stack height and load paths between the Orion Stage Adapter and the Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter. This ensures the
SLS flight profile remains representative while eliminating the complexity of an active upper stage for this test campaign.

Once the SLS delivers Orion into an initial suborbital trajectory, the European Service Modules propulsion system will perform a series of burns to raise and circularize the spacecrafts orbit in low Earth orbit.

This LEO destination is a deliberate choice. Unlike a translunar injection profile, an orbital mission provides far more flexible launch windows for the multiple vehicles involvedSLS/Orion, SpaceXs Starship HLS pathfinder, and
Blue Origins Blue Moon Mark 2 pathfinder.

The extended launch availability dramatically improves overall mission
success probability, required to avoid derailing NASA Administrator Jared Isaacmans plans for Artemis.



In orbit, the crew will conduct an ambitious set of objectives during a
flight expected to last longer than Artemis II. Engineers will gain
additional data on Orions life support systems under prolonged crewed conditions.

For the first time in the Artemis program, astronauts will demonstrate the spacecrafts docking system performance with active lander vehicles. NASA is still refining the concept of operations, but current planning includes the possibility of crew members transferring into at least one of the commercial lander test articles to evaluate habitability, interfaces, and operational procedures.

These activities will directly inform the rendezvous and proximity operations techniques needed for lunar landings, as well as future surface habitation concepts.

The mission also provides an early opportunity to test an upgraded Orion heat shield design. Data collected during the crews high-speed return to Earth
will help validate more flexible and robust reentry trajectories for subsequent missions, potentially expanding the operational envelope available to flight planners.

Although NASA officials have defended the addition of this mission and its
LEO destination against claims that it represents a delay to landing on the Moon, workers at KSC have widely reported, including in conversations with this site, a surge in operations and a renewed sense of purpose for the big orange rocket.

This has been visually evident, with Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) segments for the next mission already arriving into surge at KSC from Utah via train. Artemis III SRB segment arriving into Surge at KSC, via NSF L2 (KSC worker).

It is understood that all is on track to begin the stacking of the SRB segments on Mobile Launcher 1 inside the VAB this summer, marking the
official buildup of the Artemis III vehicle.

This work continues alongside the recent delivery of the largest element of the core stage aboard the Pegasus barge.



Over the coming weeks and months, NASA will continue refining mission details for Artemis III.

Because the mission remains in Earth orbit, the Deep Space Network will not
be available in the same manner as for lunar flights. The agency has
therefore solicited industry input on alternative communications
architectures to ensure reliable ground contact.

NASA is also exploring opportunities to fly secondary payloads, including CubeSats that could be deployed from Orion or the lander vehicles during the mission. Both domestic and international partners have been invited to
propose concepts as the Concept of Operations (ConOps) matures.

Overall, NASA stresses that this mission reflects the agencys evolving approach to risk reduction in the Artemis program.

Rather than rushing directly to a lunar landing with unproven integrated systems, the agency is inserting a dedicated integration flight that brings together two competing commercial lander designs alongside Orionpreparations required for Artemis IVs South Pole landing and the long-term goal of establishing a sustainable human presence on the Moon.

(Lead photo: Artemis III Core Stage arrival, via Max Evans for NSF).



The post Artemis III deep into processing and planning for key HLS test appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2026/05/artemis-iii-processing-planning-hls/


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Science News (1337:1/100)