Orion

Orion is the crew spacecraft NASA built for the Artemis programme. The capsule is made by Lockheed Martin and sits on a European Service Module supplied by the European Space Agency and built by Airbus Defence and Space. It carries four people beyond low Earth orbit, for up to 21 days on its own or up to six months when docked. A launch escape tower sits on top, and the Space Launch System is its rocket. Orion carried the first crew on a lunar flyby since 1972 when Artemis II flew in April 2026.

Events

Artemis III
- New Glenn, Orion, SLS, Starship, Vulcan
- Randy, Luca, Frank, Andre
Artemis III was meant to be the landing. By 2026 the lunar landers were not ready and the Gateway station that Orion was to meet had been dropped, so NASA rebuilt the mission around what could fly in 2027.
3 videos
- NASA
- The Space Race
- Cosmic Enigma
Artemis II
- Orion, SLS
- Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, Jeremy Hansen
Artemis II was the first crewed flight of the Artemis programme and the first time people had flown to the Moon since Apollo 17. Orion Integrity was the first crewed spacecraft to fly on the Space Launch System.
5 videos
- Everyday Astronaut
- NASA
Artemis I
- Orion, SLS
Artemis I flew Orion to the Moon without a crew to prove that the rocket and the capsule were ready for people.
1 video
- Primal Space