NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman announced sweeping changes to the Artemis program on Friday morning, including an increased cadence of missions and cancelation of an expensive rocket stage.
The upheaval comes as NASA has struggled to fuel the massive Space Launch System rocket for the upcoming Artemis II lunar mission, and Isaacman has sought to revitalize an agency that has moved at a glacial pace on its deep-space programs. There is increasing concern that, absent a shakeup, China’s rising space program will land humans on the moon before NASA can return there this decade with Artemis.
“NASA must standardize its approach, increase flight rate safely, and execute on the president’s national space