![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260814_max_power_jared_SFN_AB-1.jpeg\")
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announces the Max Power event, an air and space expo that will take place across Space Florida\u2019s Launch and Landing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center and the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex on Nov. 7-8, 2026. Image: Adam Bernstein\/Spaceflight Now<\/p>\n
NASA is potentially less than a year away from the trio of rocket launches that will encompass the Artemis 3 mission and the agency\u2019s leader said he is \u201cextremely confident\u201d that the mission will happen in 2027.<\/p>\n
Isaacman made the statement while joined by Brian Hughes, the Kennedy Space Center director, as well as members of the Florida congressional delegation on Friday. He was there to announce a new NASA-supported, privately run air and space show, called \u201cMax Power\u201d taking place in early November.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m extremely confident that we are we are going to be able to launch Artemis 3 next year. That\u2019s why we stepped into stacking operations,\u201d Isaacman said, referring to the assembly of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket happening in the Vehicle Assembly Building at KSC.<\/p>\n
![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260813-Artemis_3_nose_cones_VAB.jpg\")
The left, with black stripe, and right aerodynamic forward assemblies for the twin SLS (Space Launch System) solid rocket boosters for Artemis 3 arrive at the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. The nose cones will be integrated atop the SLS boosters to provide a smooth, pointed shape that allows the boosters to cut through the atmosphere efficiently, reducing drag and keeping the rocket stable during ascent.\u202f Image: NASA\/Cory Huston<\/p>\n
Earlier this summer, the Orion spacecraft\u2019s crew and service module were mated together ahed of additional testing. Four out of the ten segments of the solid rocket boosters have been stacked inside High Bay 3 while engine integration onto the core stage happens inside High Bay 2.<\/p>\n
The Artemis 3 mission will begin with the launch of Blue Origin\u2019s New Glenn rocket, which will send a test version of its Blue Moon Mark 2 lander into low Earth orbit. That will be followed days later by the launch of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, which will rendezvous and dock with Blue Origin\u2019s vehicle.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a chance to visit with the Blue Origin team earlier, walked the assembly line floor today, looking at components that will make their way into the Blue Origin test lander that we will be rendezvousing and docking with,\u201d Isaacman said. \u201cAnd I\u2019ll tell you, if you spoke to Blue Origin, they would say the same thing. What we are going to learn from that mission, the amount of risk we\u2019re going to be able to bring down in advance of Artemis 4 will be significant.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think in fact, if you coupled that with the uncrewed landing demonstration, you\u2019d be very confident in what they\u2019re going to be able to achieve potentially in 2028.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260814_Blue_Moon_Mk2_demo_docking.jpg\")
This artist\u2019s concept depicts Blue Origin\u2019s Blue Moon Mark 2 human landing system test article in Earth orbit with NASA\u2019s Orion spacecraft during rendezvous and docking operations as part of NASA\u2019s upcoming Artemis III demonstration mission in low Earth orbit. Graphic: Blue Origin<\/p>\n
Blue Origin\u2019s demonstration lander represents a number of the capabilities that will be featured in their Blue Moon Mark 2 lander, which will be used for crewed landings on the Moon\u2019s south pole. The test lander doesn\u2019t include the BE-7 engine of the Blue Moon Mark 2, but it does include a life support system and crew habitation area, which will allow the crew to live and work onboard while it\u2019s docked with the Orion spacecraft.<\/p>\n
After the two separate, SpaceX will launch its Starship Version 3 rocket, with a docking adapter on the nose of the upper stage. That Starship will be the target for Orion to dock, but because it won\u2019t have a crew habitation area, the astronauts will remain onboard Orion while the two are mated.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow with respect to SpaceX, I think you\u2019re what you\u2019re witnessing, you\u2019re seeing an increase in launch cadence, and that\u2019s critical. If they\u2019re able to launch again in early September after their last launch and continue to track inside the month, potentially every couple of weeks before the end of the year, that\u2019s going to \u2014 we\u2019re going to feel very good about their time to contribute to Artemis 3 next year,\u201d Isaacman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve already started cutting hardware for that test vehicle. We track that every single day, so that\u2019s the test lander. So we\u2019re feeling very good about that, and I\u2019d say more so with each step along the way that you get better about Artemis 3, you\u2019re feeling that much better about Artemis 4 and its timeline in \u201928.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Artemis 4 mission is planned to be the first crewed landing on the Moon as part of the Artemis Program. At this stage, NASA hasn\u2019t named the crew flight that mission or which lander it will select to perform the landing operation for that mission.<\/p>\n
Max Power coming to Kennedy<\/p>\n
The event Friday wasn\u2019t billed around an Artemis 3 update, but rather to announce and promote the Max Power air and space technology expo. Isaacman said that the event \u201cis not something that NASA is going to be footing the bill for,\u201d but rather managed by sponsors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese type of events do happen around the world, they\u2019re sponsor-driven. We\u2019re making available this great real estate, no different than you would see at other major events. Nellis (Air Force Base) has a show, Andrews (Air Force Base) and others,\u201d Isaacman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll be contributing a lot of our talent and we\u2019ll be contributing some of our aircraft from the NASA portfolio, which we fly around at various events at normal, well, they\u2019re certainly becoming normal course and especially America\u2019s 250th birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n
\ufeff<\/p>\n
Those sponsors Isaacman referenced weren\u2019t mentioned by name during the Friday announcement event, but NASA\u2019s webpage for Max Power lists them as:<\/p>\n
Air Dot Show
\nDelaware North
\nPurpose Entertainment
\nSpace Florida
\nUP.Summit<\/p>\n
Even though they share the name \u201cMax Power,\u201d the event is split across three venues with separate tickets being sold by Air Dot Show, Delaware North, and UP.Summit. The number of tickets to each have not been announced and each event under the Max Power umbrella requires the purchase of a separate ticket.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the event relies on the funding and structure provided by these external organizations rather than exclusively using NASA\u2019s federally appropriated budget, ticketing is handled through their external sites so they can cover their costs of producing the event,\u201d NASA wrote on its website under the \u201cFrequently Asked Questions\u201d section.<\/p>\n
Delaware North, which manages the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex<\/a>, is charging $69.38 per adult per day with taxes and fees ($58.68 per child ages 3-11). It will take place at the KSCVC and feature panels from NASA and other space companies; a space-themed parade; and hands-on activities.<\/p>\n
![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/20260814_Artemis_3_launch_simulation.jpg\")
From left, Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director and Jeremy Graeber, assistant launch director, both with NASA\u2019s Exploration Ground Systems Program, participate in a cryogenic propellant loading simulation for NASA\u2019s Artemis 3 mission on Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, inside Firing Rooms 1 and 2 of the Rocco A. Petrone Launch Control Center at the agency\u2019s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Members of NASA\u2019s Exploration Ground Systems team rehearse the steps to load the super-cooled liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket core stage, a process that starts several hours before liftoff for the Artemis III mission. Image: NASA\/Cory Huston<\/p>\n