Orion prime contractor Lockheed Martin has the spacecraft for NASA’s Artemis III and IV lunar landing missions in production alongside the Artemis II vehicle that is going into final assembly at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Simultaneous assembly and test of three Orions is becoming the norm, as the Orion program works towards its goal of delivering one spacecraft every year for eventual, annual Artemis missions.
Following the Artemis II lunar flyby test flight, the Artemis III Orion will be the first to demonstrate full rendezvous and docking operations when it meets up with SpaceX’s Starship lunar lander in cislunar space during the mission. NASA still aspires to fly Artemis III as soon as December 2025, and the space agency continues to stress delivery dates for not just Artemis III, but also for the Artemis IV Orion to follow as close behind as possible.