SpaceX will now blast off a previously flown Dragon Capsule for the upcoming Crew 10 mission, meaning it can launch on 12 March, rather than the old estimate of later that month.
While the spacecraft, known as Endeavor, will still need to pass a flight readiness assessment, the process will likely be far more efficient than the “complete processing” required if a fresh vehicle was deployed.
It follows new President Donald Trump demanding NASA return Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore “as soon as possible” shortly after his inauguration last month.
The pair were due to spend just a week on the space laboratory last year but problems with the Boeing-made Starliner’s thrusters meant NASA eventually decided to return the astronauts eight months later on a rival SpaceX launch vehicle.
Despite the challenges, Starliner eventually returned to Earth safely in September, but uncrewed, in a vindication for the project’s engineers.
The news comes days after Boeing separately warned 400 employees working on its part of Artemis that they could be made redundant.
That revelation, combined with the Trump administration seemingly keeping faith in the wider program, suggests the new President is likely to hand SpaceX a larger role in the mission to return humans to the lunar surface.
PROMOTED CONTENT
Boeing is currently creating the main Space Launch System rocket, while SpaceX is using a modified version of Starship to act as a lunar lander.
However, Musk has long argued the plan is “extremely inefficient” given his company has made significant progress with testing Starship, which he believes can take humans directly to Mars without external help.
NASA has not formally announced any revisions to Artemis but recently delayed the second launch designed to fly astronauts close to the moon from September 2025 to April 2026.
The news means the subsequent Artemis III mission to return humans to the moon will also be pushed back until the middle of 2027.
Adam Thorn
Adam is a journalist who has worked for more than 40 prestigious media brands in the UK and Australia. Since 2005, his varied career has included stints as a reporter, copy editor, feature writer and editor for publications as diverse as Fleet Street newspaper The Sunday Times, fashion bible Jones, media and marketing website Mumbrella as well as lifestyle magazines such as GQ, Woman’s Weekly, Men’s Health and Loaded. He joined Momentum Media in early 2020 and currently writes for Australian Aviation and World of Aviation.
Receive the latest developments and updates on Australia’s space industry direct to your inbox. Subscribe today to Space Connect here.
