Overview
- NASA has kept essential Artemis operations staffed under its continuity plan, and teams mated Orion to the SLS in the Vehicle Assembly Building on October 20.
- Lockheed Martin’s Kirk Shireman cautioned that work is nearing a tipping point, citing unpaid small businesses that may soon stop work.
- Officials described growing secondary impacts, including travel disruptions tied to unpaid air-traffic controllers that could hinder operations.
- Aerojet Rocketdyne reported no immediate effects, saying it is ready for Artemis 2 and expects an RS-25 hot-fire at Stennis within weeks.
- The shutdown barred NASA officials from an Artemis 2 panel at the von Braun symposium as many agency personnel and contractors work without pay.