Once unthinkable, NASA and Lockheed are now considering launching Orion on other rockets

Artemis III: A brand new spaceship.

Artemis IV: A brand new spaceship.

Artemis V: Will reuse approximately 250 components, primarily life support and avionics equipment, from Artemis II.

Artemis VI: Will reuse the primary structure (pressure vessel) and secondary structures (gussets, panels, supports, plates) of Artemis III Orion, as well as approximately 3,000 components.

Lockheed plans to build a fleet of three largely reusable spacecraft, which will debut on the Artemis III, IV, and V missions, respectively. These three vehicles would then fly future missions, and if Lockheed needed to expand its fleet to meet demand, it could.

This photo, from 2023, shows the Orions for Artemis II, III and IV all together.

Credit: Lockheed Martin

Of course, Orion can never be entirely reusable. The service module, built by Airbus and providing propulsion, separates from Orion before entering the Earth’s atmosphere and burns.

“We should probably talk about maximum reuse, because some things are consumed,” Shireman said. “For example, the heat shield is consumed during the ablation of the ablative material. But we will, ultimately, reuse the structure of the heat shield itself.”

Vectorize on a new path

Orion will always be relatively expensive. However, officials said they were on track to reduce the cost of producing an Orion by 50 percent, from the Artemis II model to the Artemis V vehicle, and that on subsequent missions that cost would be reduced by another 30 percent or more. To achieve this, minimizing renovations will be key.

Lockheed will never achieve “complete and rapid reusability” for Orion as SpaceX is attempting with its Starship vehicle. This is simply not how Orion was designed, nor what NASA wants. The space agency is seeking safe and reliable travel into deep space for its astronauts.

At the moment only Orion can provide this. In the future, Starship may well offer this capability. Blue Origin and other vendors could develop a human vehicle capable of deep space travel. But Orion is here and ready to welcome its first astronauts in 2026. It will be years before an alternative becomes available.

It’s nice to see that Lockheed is recognizing that this advantage won’t last forever and is evolving – or should we say, Vectoring – towards a more sustainable future.