Overview
- Acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy said SpaceX is behind schedule on its Starship human landing system and that the Artemis III contract is being reopened to competition.
- Duffy explicitly cited Blue Origin as a potential contender and said NASA will not wait for a single vendor to deliver a lunar landing.
- NASA asked SpaceX and Blue Origin to submit acceleration approaches by Oct. 29 and is seeking broader industry input on increasing mission cadence.
- Duffy signaled Artemis II could shift to an early February 2026 launch window and said NASA is targeting a return to the lunar surface by 2028, potentially using two providers.
- SpaceX’s Starship must still demonstrate in‑orbit propellant transfer and an uncrewed lunar landing after several test failures this year, while Blue Origin said it is ready to support an accelerated schedule.