Artemis II teams focused on moon mission as layoffs shake the space industry
Artemis II mission to travel around the moon
As layoffs continue to sweep the space industry, Artemis II teams are determined to remain focused on their moon mission as they attempt to make up for missed deadlines with fewer workers. It’s taken years for NASA to get this far in the Artemis mission. The mission will send astronauts to and from lunar orbit for the first time in five decades. Several Artemis II team leaders said that ideally they would like to launch before April 2026.
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - As layoffs continue to sweep the space industry, Artemis II teams are determined to remain focused on their moon mission as they attempt to make up for missed deadlines with fewer workers.
It’s taken years for NASA to get this far in the Artemis mission. The mission will send astronauts to and from lunar orbit for the first time in five decades.
Several Artemis II team leaders said that ideally they would like to launch before April 2026.
Layoffs in the space industry
The backstory:
FOX 35 has reported on the layoffs sweeping the space industry for the last few weeks. Both Blue Origin and Boeing recently cut jobs.
Boeing announces 400 job cuts by April
Boeing said it is preparing to cut close to 400 space jobs by April. The company said the layoffs are for employees involved with the "Space Launch System," which has been in the works for more than a decade.
NASA also lost about 5% of its workforce after DOGE investigated the agency a few weeks ago.
Although the rocket has fewer people working on it right now following the layoffs, teams are still pushing ahead to launch astronauts to the moon.
What they're saying:
"Let’s go to the moon," said Howard Hu, NASA Orion program manager, at a behind-the-scenes look for media outlets at the work happening at Kennedy Space Center. "There (are) certainly things that happen out of control, but we collectively understand those things we can’t do anything about."
"The most rewarding (part) is the mission," said Diego Melani, a manager for Orion at Lockheed Martin. "We’re actually sending astronauts back to the moon. We haven’t done this in over 50 years. … We remain focused. We know what we need to do. We know what we’re doing this for."
Where is the moon mission at now?
What we know:
With several mission delays over the past few years, the goal now is to finish up all the work at the Vehicle Assembly Building as fast as possible.
Right now, crews are wrapping up work on the Orion capsule, which astronauts will control during the flight.
"We’re going to check out things that are new to the vehicle, which are the life support systems that we have the crew on board for and displays and controls," Hu said.
Orion will be stacked in the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center on top of the core stage.
"We’re stacking the Artemis II mission rocket," said Cliff Lanham, flow director for the exploration ground systems.
Melani said his team is meeting the deadlines set by NASA.
"We are on track to deliver in two months," he said.
Artemis II is set to launch now in 2026, and stacking the core stage should happen soon.
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The Source: Information in this article was gathered from previous reporting, as well as from FOX 35's reporter Esther Bower. Bower interviewed subject-matter experts at a credentialed media event hosted by NASA at Kennedy Space Center. She also toured the Vehicle Assembly Building and the Operations and Checkout Building at the Kennedy Space Center on March 7 to see the rocket being built, as well as to interview people who are part of the Artemis II mission.