Orion installed on SLS as Artemis 2 preparations continue during shutdown

WASHINGTON — 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.

Sean Duffy, NASA’s acting administration, announced on social media Oct. 20 that the Orion spacecraft, called Integrity by its four-person crew, was “fully attached” to the SLS inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center.

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.

“The last major hardware component before Artemis II launches early next year has been installed,” Duffy announced.

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’s post was the only official word about the stacking as NASA is not updating its website or social media channels during the shutdown.

Duffy, in an appearance on Fox News Oct. 20, said NASA has received White House approval to continue Artemis 2 preparations during the shutdown. “We worked really hard with President Trump to make sure we don’t 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,” he said.

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.

Lakiesha Hawkins, acting deputy associate administrator in NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, said at a Sept. 23 briefing that the agency has been able to get exceptions for “safety-critical” activities like launch preparations in past shutdowns.

“This 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,” she said.

“NASA would continue to support Artemis operations during any funding lapse,” the agency stated in its “continuity of appropriations” plan that discussed what work would continue in the event of a shutdown. That included work “to protect production of elements of Artemis II and III and related activities” as well as to “maintain processing and supply chain safety” for later missions.

At the Kennedy Space Center, where Artemis 2 launch preparations are taking place, 989 of the center’s 2,075 civil servants are excepted from furloughs, although they are currently not being paid. By contrast, at NASA’s 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.

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’s 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.

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.