{"id":242871,"date":"2025-10-22T06:33:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T06:33:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/242871\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T06:33:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T06:33:12","slug":"orion-installed-on-sls-as-artemis-2-preparations-continue-during-shutdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/242871\/","title":{"rendered":"Orion installed on SLS as Artemis 2 preparations continue during shutdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON \u2014 The Orion spacecraft for the Artemis 2 mission has been installed on its Space Launch System rocket as preparations for the circumlunar flight continue despite a government shutdown.<\/p>\n

Sean Duffy, NASA\u2019s acting administration, announced on social media<\/a> Oct. 20 that the Orion spacecraft, called Integrity by its four-person crew, was \u201cfully attached\u201d to the SLS inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center.<\/p>\n

Orion rolled over to the VAB late Oct. 16 after completing work at another building at the center. That included having its launch abort system attached to the top of the capsule.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last major hardware component before Artemis II launches early next year has been installed,\u201d Duffy announced.<\/p>\n

That work is continuing despite a government shutdown that started Oct. 1 when Congress failed to pass a continuing resolution to keep the government funded as the 2026 fiscal year began. Duffy\u2019s post was the only official word about the stacking as NASA is not updating its website or social media channels during the shutdown.<\/p>\n

Duffy, in an appearance on Fox News Oct. 20, said NASA has received White House approval to continue Artemis 2 preparations during the shutdown. \u201cWe worked really hard with President Trump to make sure we don\u2019t delay in a space race. We want to make sure that NASA and the critical missions like Artemis, we have our NASA scientists and technicians still working on the project,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

NASA officials said in September that they expected to be able to continue launch preparations in the event of a shutdown, citing precedents from previous shutdowns.<\/p>\n

Lakiesha Hawkins, acting deputy associate administrator in NASA\u2019s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, said at a Sept. 23 briefing that the agency has been able to get exceptions for \u201csafety-critical\u201d activities like launch preparations in past shutdowns.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is obviously very safety critical and we anticipate being able to request, and being able to continue to move forward on, Artemis 2 in the event of a shutdown,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNASA would continue to support Artemis operations during any funding lapse,\u201d the agency stated in its \u201ccontinuity of appropriations\u201d plan<\/a> that discussed what work would continue in the event of a shutdown. That included work \u201cto protect production of elements of Artemis II and III and related activities\u201d as well as to \u201cmaintain processing and supply chain safety\u201d for later missions.<\/p>\n

At the Kennedy Space Center, where Artemis 2 launch preparations are taking place, 989 of the center\u2019s 2,075 civil servants are excepted from furloughs, although they are currently not being paid. By contrast, at NASA\u2019s Langley Research Center, whose work is primarily in aeronautics, science and space technology, only 34 of its 1,756 civil servants are excepted from furloughs, according to the NASA plan updated Sept. 29.<\/p>\n

While work continues on Artemis 2, being able to talk about it publicly is not included in the exceptions to furloughs. The American Astronautical Society\u2019s Von Braun Space Exploration Symposium, scheduled for Oct. 27 through 29 in Huntsville, Alabama, had planned a panel discussion on Artemis 2 featuring program leadership.<\/p>\n

An updated version of the conference agenda released Oct. 20 no longer includes that panel, and other NASA officials who were scheduled to participate in the event, including Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya and Associate Administrator for Science Nicola Fox, are also no longer on the agenda.<\/p>\n

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