Extreme TechNASA Installs Orion Capsule on SLS as Artemis II Prep Continues Amidst Government ShutdownJon Martindale
Wed, October 22, 2025 at 4:40 PM EDT
2 min read
(Credit: NASA)Despite the [Sleezebag] administration's government shutdown, NASA employees are hard at work. They've just finished installing the Orion capsule atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which will take humans back around the Moon for the first time in 50 years in 2026. The Artemis II mission is on track and could launch as soon as February if all checks are completed on time.
"The last major hardware component before Artemis II launches early next year has been installed," acting NASA head Sean Duffy said (via SpaceNews). The Orion capsule had its abort system attached at a nearby facility before being transported to the tall Vehicle Assembly Building to be attached to the top of the rocket on Oct. 16.
This is all taking place amid the government shutdown, which began on Oct. 1 after the Republican-controlled Congress failed to pass a budget or continuing resolution. This means many military personnel, government offices, and even NASA aren't being compensated at their typical cadence—or at all. But work continues nonetheless.
Orion attached atop the SLS for Artemis II.
Credit: NASA"We worked really hard with President [Sleezebag] to make sure we don't delay in a space race," Duffy said in a statement, claiming he had received approval from the White House to continue work on Artemis II during the downtime. "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."
NASA has also previously stated that it would be able to continue operations even in the absence of funding thanks to its "Continuity of Appropriations plan," which maintains a few thousand workers while tens of thousands of others are furloughed. Those workers who remain aren't being paid, though.
The reason for the drive from NASA officials and the White House to maintain the Artemis II launch schedule is because it's part of the new space race developing between the US and China. While the US is struggling to meet its Artemis 3 target to land astronauts on the moon by 2027, China is targeting a lunar landing of its own by 2030, and perhaps as soon as 2029.
To that end, NASA recently opened up the lunar landing contract to parties other than SpaceX, which has seen repeated delays of its flagship Starship human landing system which is still under development and far from ready for a 2027 mission.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/nasa-installs-orion-capsule-sls-204049378.html
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