NASA Confirms Three Rocket Sequence for Lunar Lander Verification
A 14-day orbital test will assess two commercial landers before the 2028 crewed moon landing.
By Carmen Wojcik ·
NASA presented its operational plan for the Artemis III test flight on Oct. 23 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The mission is designed to verify commercial moon landers in orbit before astronauts attempt a lunar landing. The agency detailed the sequence during a press conference that lasted more than two hours.
The campaign involves three separate launches from the Florida Space Coast. Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket will fly first, carrying the Blue Moon lander into low Earth orbit. NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) will follow, sending the Orion spacecraft with a four-person crew. SpaceX’s Starship will launch third, equipped with a docking adapter. Artemis program manager Jeremy Parsons described the effort as likely the most complicated launch campaign ever undertaken.
The crew consists of NASA astronauts Randy Bresnik, Andre Douglas, and Frank Rubio, along with European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano. SLS will place Orion in a highly elliptical orbit, which will then adjust to an altitude of about 345 miles. This adjustment addresses thermal stability issues for the deep-space capsule in lower orbit.
On Flight Day 3, the crew will rendezvous with the Blue Moon lander at an altitude of 273 miles. The teams will spend two days docked, testing life support systems, atmospheric pressure, and emergency protocols. Around Flight Day 6, Starship will launch and meet Orion on Flight Day 8 at 237 miles. The crew will not enter Starship but will gather data on docking forces during a roughly two-hour encounter.
After undocking from Starship, the mission will continue for six to nine days before an ocean splashdown. The nominal duration is 14 days, though the flight could extend to 17 days. The crew will evaluate survival suits and conduct health assessments, tasks not completed during the 10-day Artemis II flyby in April.
The test data will inform the selection process for Artemis IV, which targets a crewed landing near the moon's south pole in 2028. NASA administrator Jared Isaacman stated the agency is preserving options for both commercial partners. He noted that NASA has no intention of surrendering a viable path to the surface before the data and schedule compel it. Both Blue Origin and SpaceX are planning lunar landing missions for 2028, but their operational profiles differ regarding where the dockings occur.
NASA is targeting a summer launch for Artemis III next year. However, Isaacman told employees in an internal memo last month that the mission is about 90 days behind schedule. Parsons identified the lunar lander supply chain as a major challenge, though both he and Isaacman expressed confidence in the team's progress.
