Overview
- Acting administrator Sean Duffy said NASA will re-solicit the Artemis III lunar lander, judging SpaceX behind schedule despite recent Starship progress.
- Reopening the competition invites bids from Blue Origin and other contractors, with Blue Origin already contracted for later Artemis missions.
- Duffy set a revised timeline that targets Artemis II for February 2026 if moved up from April and shifts the Artemis III landing goal to 2028.
- SpaceX’s Starship program saw multiple failures earlier this year under FAA scrutiny, followed by a largely successful test flight in mid-October.
- SpaceX’s 2021 Human Landing System award, now widely reported at about $4.4 billion, is at risk as public tensions rose after Elon Musk attacked Duffy on X.