Orion
Orion Space wins U.S. Space Force contract for on-orbit services experiment
Orion Space Solutions announced Aug. 16 it was selected by the U.S. Space Force to develop three small satellites for a demonstration of on-orbit services in geostationary Earth orbit.
Congress presses NASA for more details on Artemis costs and schedules
Members of Congress, concerned about growing costs and slipping schedules, pressed NASA for more details about the management and overall strategy of the agency’s Artemis lunar exploration plan.
NASA foresees gap in lunar landings after Artemis 3
After landing astronauts on the moon in the mid-2020s for the first time in more than a half-century, NASA will wait at least two more years before making a second crewed lunar landing as part of the Artemis program.
Amazon’s Alexa to be tested on Artemis 1
The upcoming uncrewed test flight of the Orion spacecraft will include a payload to see how a voice recognition technology widely available to consumers today could be used to assist astronauts on future missions.
NASA inspector general warns of further delays in returning humans to the moon
NASA’s plans to return humans to the moon, which it already pushed back to at least 2025, could be further delayed, the agency’s inspector general warned Nov. 15.
NASA delays human lunar landing to at least 2025
NASA leadership has formally given up on the goal of returning humans to the moon by 2024, pushing back a landing by NASA astronauts on the lunar surface to at least 2025.
NASA expects vaccination mandates to have little impact on Artemis 1 preparations
As NASA prepares to install the Orion spacecraft on the first Space Launch System rocket, agency officials played down any effect coronavirus vaccine mandates will have on final preparations for the launch.
Pandemic to cost NASA up to $3 billion
A NASA audit concluded that costs imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic on the agency could reach $3 billion, with several major science and exploration programs accounting for much of that cost.
NASA’s inspector general criticizes Orion cost accounting
NASA’s inspector general criticized the agency for its accounting of Orion program costs in a new report, arguing it has “hindered the overall transparency” of the program amid growing costs and schedule slips.
