It only took $22 billion and 19 years: Lockheed Martin proudly announces the completion of the first Orion capsule capable of manned flight
Damage to Orion’s heat shield caused during re-entry in 2022,
including “cavities resulting from the loss of large chunks”.
Nor has this issue been fixed.
My heart be still. On May 1, 2025 Lockheed Martin proudly announced that it had finally completed assembly and testing of the first Orion capsule capable of taking human beings into space.
Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has completed assembly and testing of NASA’s Orion Artemis II spacecraft, transferring possession to NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) team today. This milestone is a significant step for NASA and the Artemis industry team, as they prepare to launch a crew of four astronauts to further the agency’s mission in establishing a human presence on the Moon for exploration and scientific discovery. It will also help build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.
Orion is the most advanced, human-rated, deep space spacecraft ever developed. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor to NASA for Orion and built the crew module, crew module adaptor and launch abort system. “This achievement is a testament to our employees and suppliers who have worked tirelessly to get us to this important milestone,” said Kirk Shireman, vice president of Human Space Exploration and Orion program manager at Lockheed Martin. “The Orion spacecraft completion for Artemis II is a major step forward in our nation’s efforts to develop a long-term lunar presence. It’s exciting to think that soon, humans will see the Earth rise over the lunar horizon from our vehicle, while also traveling farther from Earth than ever before.”
What disgusting hogwash. First of all, Lockheed Martin was issued the contract to build two capsules, one for testing and one for manned flight, in 2006. It only took the company 19 years to build both. Second, that 2006 contract was supposed to only cost $3.9 billion. Instead, NASA has forked out more than $22 billion.
And what have we gotten? Two capsules, plus a handful of prototype test versions. Worse, this first capsule will be the first to ever carry the life support systems that keep humans alive, as Lockheed Martin admits in its press release:
Artemis II [the first manned mission around the Moon in 2026] will put Orion through its final tests in deep space with a crew on board and will include learnings and significant enhancements gleaned from the Artemis I mission. To support the health and safety of the crew, new systems have been added, which include life support – air, water, thermal control, waste management – displays and controls, audio communications, an exercise machine and a fully functional Launch Abort System.
The company needed almost two decades and billions before it could install that life support system. And it will test it for the first time with humans on board, flying around the Moon.
Worse, the press release says nothing about Orion’s unsafe heat shield, which NASA admits has serious engineering flaws and carries a real risk of failing upon return to Earth.
As a taxpayer, I want my money back!
All in all, the entire SLS and Orion program has been a scam on the public, designed not to explore space but to pump cash into the pockets of the old big space companies. What makes this even more atrocious is that these facts were obvious from day one. I wrote about it repeatedly going back to the very start of this website (see here and here for just two examples). And yet, our so-called mainstream press gladly promoted the lie, and the public accepted it blindly.
Even now that same propaganda press is pushing back against Trump’s proposals to trim NASA’s budget, which includes the cancellation of both SLS and Orion. That none of this money accomplishes what it is supposed to do — establish the United States as a viable space-faring nation — matters not. These pointless projects funnel cash into these big space companies, who in turn funnel cash into the campaign bank accounts of those politicians. They all prosper while America goes bankrupt. What a deal! And the propaganda press is all for it!
Have Americans finally awakened to this scam? I have no idea, though I think we shall find out in the next three years, without doubt. Either Trump will succeed in reshaping NASA into a more efficient operation, or the same crap will go on, bankrupting the country. It will all depend on whether the public buys into the propaganda spewed at them from Washington and the press.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
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c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
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You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Damage to Orion’s heat shield caused during re-entry in 2022,
including “cavities resulting from the loss of large chunks”.
Nor has this issue been fixed.
My heart be still. On May 1, 2025 Lockheed Martin proudly announced that it had finally completed assembly and testing of the first Orion capsule capable of taking human beings into space.
Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] has completed assembly and testing of NASA’s Orion Artemis II spacecraft, transferring possession to NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) team today. This milestone is a significant step for NASA and the Artemis industry team, as they prepare to launch a crew of four astronauts to further the agency’s mission in establishing a human presence on the Moon for exploration and scientific discovery. It will also help build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.
Orion is the most advanced, human-rated, deep space spacecraft ever developed. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor to NASA for Orion and built the crew module, crew module adaptor and launch abort system. “This achievement is a testament to our employees and suppliers who have worked tirelessly to get us to this important milestone,” said Kirk Shireman, vice president of Human Space Exploration and Orion program manager at Lockheed Martin. “The Orion spacecraft completion for Artemis II is a major step forward in our nation’s efforts to develop a long-term lunar presence. It’s exciting to think that soon, humans will see the Earth rise over the lunar horizon from our vehicle, while also traveling farther from Earth than ever before.”
What disgusting hogwash. First of all, Lockheed Martin was issued the contract to build two capsules, one for testing and one for manned flight, in 2006. It only took the company 19 years to build both. Second, that 2006 contract was supposed to only cost $3.9 billion. Instead, NASA has forked out more than $22 billion.
And what have we gotten? Two capsules, plus a handful of prototype test versions. Worse, this first capsule will be the first to ever carry the life support systems that keep humans alive, as Lockheed Martin admits in its press release:
Artemis II [the first manned mission around the Moon in 2026] will put Orion through its final tests in deep space with a crew on board and will include learnings and significant enhancements gleaned from the Artemis I mission. To support the health and safety of the crew, new systems have been added, which include life support – air, water, thermal control, waste management – displays and controls, audio communications, an exercise machine and a fully functional Launch Abort System.
The company needed almost two decades and billions before it could install that life support system. And it will test it for the first time with humans on board, flying around the Moon.
Worse, the press release says nothing about Orion’s unsafe heat shield, which NASA admits has serious engineering flaws and carries a real risk of failing upon return to Earth.
As a taxpayer, I want my money back!
All in all, the entire SLS and Orion program has been a scam on the public, designed not to explore space but to pump cash into the pockets of the old big space companies. What makes this even more atrocious is that these facts were obvious from day one. I wrote about it repeatedly going back to the very start of this website (see here and here for just two examples). And yet, our so-called mainstream press gladly promoted the lie, and the public accepted it blindly.
Even now that same propaganda press is pushing back against Trump’s proposals to trim NASA’s budget, which includes the cancellation of both SLS and Orion. That none of this money accomplishes what it is supposed to do — establish the United States as a viable space-faring nation — matters not. These pointless projects funnel cash into these big space companies, who in turn funnel cash into the campaign bank accounts of those politicians. They all prosper while America goes bankrupt. What a deal! And the propaganda press is all for it!
Have Americans finally awakened to this scam? I have no idea, though I think we shall find out in the next three years, without doubt. Either Trump will succeed in reshaping NASA into a more efficient operation, or the same crap will go on, bankrupting the country. It will all depend on whether the public buys into the propaganda spewed at them from Washington and the press.
Readers!
My annual February birthday fund-raising drive for Behind the Black is now over. Thank you to everyone who donated or subscribed. While not a record-setter, the donations were more than sufficient and slightly above average.
As I have said many times before, I can’t express what it means to me to get such support, especially as no one is required to pay anything to read my work. Thank you all again!
For those readers who like my work here at Behind the Black and haven't contributed so far, please consider donating or subscribing. My analysis of space, politics, and culture, taken from the perspective of an historian, is almost always on the money and ahead of the game. For example, in 2020 I correctly predicted that the COVID panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Every one of those 2020 conclusions has turned out right.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
The wailing and gnashing of teeth from the space science community on Bluesky and to a lesser extent on X has been something to behold. It appears that to be in support of these cuts renders one an antiscience fascist or something to that effect. The Mars Sample Return suggested cancelation is setting many of them off. It seems that budgeting and financial common sense is rare to nonexistent for this crowd; the cost overruns and delays appear to have no bearing on their support for the project.
I have not seen any updates on the Roman space telescope; what it really being proposed for cancelation or was that propaganda from the cost-is-no-object-hands-off-our-science crowd?
Hello Clark,
The toplines document of the Fiscal Year 2026 Discretionary Budget Request released by NASA does not give any detail on that, unfortunately. All we have is the leaks from the “passback” supposedly generated by OMB.
However, I think that it is generally believed by informed observers that proposed cancellation of Roman is really in there. The first Trump administration tried (in 2018) to kill it, too.
I doubt that Congressional leadership will go for it, though. Ted Cruz, for example, has been a consistent and vocal supporter. But we shall see.
“All in all, the entire SLS and Orion program has been a scam on the public, designed not to explore space but to pump cash into the pockets of the old big space companies.”
I wish I could sum up SLS and Orion better in one sentence, but I really can’t.
Well: I might add “unsafe” to “scam.” But you cover that concern pretty well in the rest of the essay, Bob.