Mission Events
The Space Systems Command (SSC) in El Segundo awarded an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract on April 7, 2026, for space-based space domain awareness capability. The 14-company pool includes Anduril, Astranis, BAE Systems Space, General Atomics, Intuitive Machines, L3Harris, Lockheed Martin, Millennium Space Systems, Northrop Grumman, Quantum Space, Redwire, Sierra Space, True Anomaly, and Turion Space. The IDIQ ceiling and individual task order values were not disclosed. The procurement was competitive with 32 offers received. This represents a significant commercial-first approach to orbital domain awareness infrastructure.
NASA launched the Artemis II mission on April 1, 2026 at 6:35 p.m. EDT from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center, sending commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch, and CSA astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a ~10-day free-return trajectory around the Moon. The SLS core stage and Orion spacecraft performed nominally, with solar array deployment confirmed shortly after separation. On April 2, the crew completed a 5-minute, 55-second translunar injection burn that set Orion on course to reach a maximum distance of approximately 252,021 miles from Earth — surpassing the Apollo 13 record. The mission is a crewed test flight, not a lunar landing, and is intended to validate Orion life support, navigation, and deep-space systems ahead of Artemis IV.
Senior NASA managers detail development of compact nuclear power systems to provide steady heat and electricity for lunar and Mars habitats, supporting long‑duration surface operations and science.
NASA formally locks in an April 1–7 2026 launch window for Artemis II, the first crewed flight of the Artemis program, to perform a lunar flyby using the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft.
NASA leadership has chosen to redirect resources away from the long-planned Lunar Gateway orbital station toward building a more ambitious, sustained human base on the lunar surface. The decision reflects a broader Artemis program shift toward surface infrastructure.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman called for a monthly cadence of robotic lunar landers to the south pole starting next year, accelerating CLPS 2.0 and surface infrastructure.
After helium leak repairs and final close-outs, NASA began the ~4-mile rollout of the fully stacked SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center. Rollout started ~8 p.m. EDT March 19 (delayed slightly by winds) and is expected to complete within 12 hours. This positions the vehicle for the April 1 targeted crewed lunar flyby: the first humans around the Moon since Apollo 17.