IT’S COMPLICATED: Isaacman outlines Artemis III multi-launch checkout sequence and Blue Origin priority.
He emphasized that the mission will require a sequenced series of launches involving three different vehicles and providers, and that NASA will only commit the Space Launch System (SLS) if Blue Origin’s lander is already in orbit.
Speaking during a wide-ranging interview with NSF, Isaacman confirmed that Artemis III is structured around an initial New Glenn launch carrying Blue Origin’s Blue Moon lander. That vehicle is expected to have the ability to loiter in orbit for roughly 30 days.
That flight would be followed by the SLS/Orion crew launch and a Starship launch.
He described the three-launch, three-provider profile as unprecedented for a NASA crew mission and a reflection of the multi-launch campaigns expected for future large-scale space infrastructure.
“We’re not going to launch without Blue Origin in it,” Isaacman said. “That’s why they’re going to launch first. Like they need to be up there, do some checkouts, and then we commit SLS.”
Yeah, about that:
The time and money wasted on SLS will never stop infuriating me. If China beats us back to the Moon, it will be because of the failure to take advantage of Falcon Heavy by shifting funds from SLS to what we actually needed to get back to the Moon. https://t.co/1BEl58fRFA
— Rand Simberg (@Simberg_Space) November 1, 2026
SLS is worse than a boondoggle.