NASA 'Extremely Confident' in 2027 Artemis 3 as Starship Ramps

HAWTHORNE, Calif. — NASA is closing in on the trio of launches that will make up its Artemis 3 mission, and the agency's leader says SpaceX's accelerating Starship program is a key reason he is optimistic the flight will happen in 2027.

Speaking Friday at Kennedy Space Center, NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said he is "extremely confident that we are going to be able to launch Artemis 3 next year," pointing to stacking operations already underway on the Space Launch System rocket. His confidence rested in part on SpaceX's launch tempo, which has surged in 2026 alongside the company's record-setting flight cadence.

SpaceX's Role in the Mission

Artemis 3 is designed as a multi-launch demonstration. After Blue Origin flies a test lander and NASA's SLS sends the Orion crew capsule to orbit, SpaceX will launch a Starship Version 3 fitted with a docking adapter on the nose of its upper stage. Orion astronauts will rendezvous and dock with that Starship in low Earth orbit — a dress rehearsal for the lunar operations to come.

Isaacman made clear that SpaceX's cadence is central to the timeline. "If they're able to launch again in early September after their last launch and continue to track inside the month, potentially every couple of weeks before the end of the year, that's going to — we're going to feel very good about their time to contribute to Artemis 3 next year," he said, adding that SpaceX has "already started cutting hardware for that test vehicle."

Momentum Building at Starbase

The Starship team has spent 2026 driving toward higher flight rates, and each step brings the vehicle closer to the operational role NASA is counting on. The agency says it tracks the test-lander hardware daily, a sign of how tightly the Artemis schedule is now woven together with SpaceX's progress — the same relentless development approach that has powered SpaceX's broader ambitions.

Isaacman framed the near-term work as a confidence builder not just for Artemis 3 but for the crewed lunar landing that follows on Artemis 4. Every successful Starship flight, he suggested, lowers risk across the entire campaign.

If the cadence holds, 2027 could see humanity's most capable deep-space transportation system take a defining step toward returning astronauts to the Moon — with SpaceX's stainless-steel rocket at the center of the plan. NASA has laid out the full mission architecture in its Artemis program updates, and the next Starship flight will be the next milestone to watch.