Artemis III astronaut says 2027 launch possible, but 'anything can happen'
Artemis III astronaut Andre Douglas told Reuters on Monday that the mission could still launch next summer, but "anything can happen" while SpaceX and Blue Origin finish their moon landers. The flight will practice docking in Earth orbit before a planned 2028 landing. NASA's chief has said the schedule is about 90 days behind.
NASA's next moon mission is still aimed at next summer, but one of its astronauts is careful not to promise. "The biggest thing is having faith in the team to pull together, with the same rationale that anything can happen," Artemis III mission specialist Andre Douglas told Reuters on Monday.
Artemis III will not land on the Moon. It will stay in orbit around Earth so the crew can practice docking their Orion capsule with the two moon landers NASA is buying: SpaceX's Starship and Blue Origin's Blue Moon. It is seen as a key rehearsal before NASA tries to put astronauts on the lunar surface in 2028 on Artemis IV.
The crew, named this year, is NASA astronauts Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio and Douglas, 40, plus Italy's Luca Parmitano.
The landers are the tall pole. Both have faced delays, Reuters reported. They still need to prove hard tasks, such as storing super-cold rocket fuel in space, moving it between spacecraft and docking with another vehicle in orbit. "Those are the major ones," Douglas said. Some industry sources doubt the landers will be ready for a 2027 flight.
NASA is more upbeat. Administrator Jared Isaacman has cited good progress on "the parts that are in NASA's greatest control," Reuters said, meaning the Orion capsule and the Space Launch System rocket.
Isaacman has been frank inside the agency, too. In a Sept. 20 memo to employees, he called the mission "~90 days broken against the Artemis III schedule," TalkOfTitusville reported. He said NASA leaders are pressing suppliers on valves and engine-steering parts and speeding up work on an Orion engine.
Blue Origin had a setback this spring. A New Glenn rocket failed during a test firing on May 28 and crippled the company's only working New Glenn launch pad. Isaacman wrote that NASA is helping rebuild the pad so both test landers are ready in mid-2027.
His memo said the best case still puts Artemis III on the pad in summer 2027.
What we know: NASA still targets a 2027 launch for the Earth-orbit docking test.
What we don't: Whether both landers will be ready in time.
Where outlets agree Reuters and TalkOfTitusville both describe Artemis III as an Earth-orbit docking test with SpaceX and Blue Origin landers, flown by Bresnik, Douglas, Rubio and Parmitano.
Where they differ NASA says it is still on track for 2027, while Reuters reports some industry sources doubt the landers will be ready in time.