NASA сhief "extremely confident" Artemis III will launch in 2027

NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said he is “extremely confident” that Artemis III will launch next year, with the mission now planned to test rendezvous and docking operations between the Orion spacecraft and test versions of two human lunar landing systems.

A Wet Dress Rehearsal for Artemis III is scheduled for November, around the same time as a new event at Kennedy Space Centre highlighting U.S. aeronautics and space innovation.

Isaacman was joined at KSC by Sen. Ashley Moody, Republican of Florida, and several local members of Congress to unveil Max Power, a two-day event scheduled for November 7-8 at the center’s Shuttle Landing Facility.

The event will feature air shows, science experiments, interactive mission simulators, Apollo and Artemis astronauts and “maybe a rocket launch or two.”

Asked who would finance the event, Isaacman said NASA would not pay for it, noting that similar events around the world are funded by sponsors. In an interview with CNBC earlier in the day, he compared Max Power with the Farnborough International Airshow and the Paris Air Show, which are held in alternating years in the United Kingdom and France.

KSC Director Brian Hughes said the event would also showcase NASA’s partnership with Space Florida as well as commercial partnerships “to make sure that NASA and the federal taxpayer are not the payers of this bill.”

Following the success of Artemis II in April, NASA is preparing for Artemis III in 2027. The mission was originally intended to be the first to return astronauts to the lunar surface, but Isaacman announced a change in direction in February, redesignating Artemis III as an Earth-orbit test mission.

Under the revised plan, Artemis III will conduct rendezvous and docking operations with test versions of the two human lunar landing systems: Blue Origin’s Blue Moon MK2 and SpaceX’s Starship HLS.

The four-person Artemis III crew will launch aboard NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft before conducting operations with the Blue Moon MK2 and Starship HLS test vehicles, which will be launched separately by Blue Origin and SpaceX.

NASA is already stacking the SLS and Orion for the mission. Isaacman said the spacecraft and rocket are expected to roll out to Launch Complex 39B for the Wet Dress Rehearsal at roughly the same time as the Max Power event.

Blue Moon MK2 is designed to launch aboard Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket. The explosion of a New Glenn during a pre-launch test in May represented a setback, but did not directly affect development of the Blue Moon MK2. Blue Origin officials remain confident that New Glenn can return to flight by the end of the year.

SpaceX, meanwhile, has conducted two largely successful flights of the new Starship Version 3 this year, although the vehicle has yet to reach orbit.

Isaacman said he is “extremely confident that we are going to be able to launch Artemis III next year,” adding that NASA manages “every single component” of the Artemis program “down to the day, down to the hour.”

NASA’s goal is to return astronauts to the lunar surface on the following mission, Artemis IV, which is targeted for 2028.

By Tamilla Hasanova