SpaceX Leads Blue Origin in 2027 Artemis III Test [2026]

NASA has confirmed that SpaceX and Blue Origin will both put lander hardware in orbit next year, and the agency’s Orion capsule will fly up to meet each one. Fortune framed the plan as Elon Musk’s company and Jeff Bezos’ company facing off in orbit. The mission behind the headline is Artemis III, scheduled to launch in 2027, and it is no longer a Moon landing.

It is an Earth-orbit test of rendezvous and docking. What NASA Confirmed About the Artemis III Lander Test Why “Face Off” Overstates It: Two Separate Dockings The billionaire angle is unconfirmed The Crew and the 14-Day Flight Plan Orbit Table: Where Each Vehicle Flies Blue Moon Mark 2: What Blue Origin Brings Starship Version 3: The Forward Docking System Why Orion Needs Three Different Altitudes Phasing is the hidden challenge What the Verified Quotes Say Historical Context: From Gemini to Apollo 9 to Artemis III Competitive Comparison: SpaceX vs Blue Origin on the Test Article Market Impact: Who Gains From a Two-Lander Test What Is Still Unconfirmed Five Predictions for the Artemis III Lander Test What to Watch Before Launch Frequently Asked Questions Four astronauts will ride Orion for a 14-day flight.

Blue Origin supplies a Blue Moon Mark 2 test lander, and SpaceX supplies a Starship Version 3 test article. Neither company has been assigned a specific lunar-landing mission yet, which makes this orbital audition the clearest side-by-side look at the two vehicles that NASA has offered so far.

We already covered the announcement itself in what NASA announced for the Artemis III lander test . This piece takes the hardware angle instead. It lays out the orbits, the docking gear, and what each vehicle has to prove before anyone talks about touching down on the lunar surface.

Google · Preferred Sources Don't miss new tech stories on Google Add Shattered once in the Google app and our stories show up in your news suggestions. Add now What NASA Confirmed About the Artemis III Lander Test The confirmed facts are short and specific. Artemis III is set for 2027.

It will demonstrate rendezvous and docking between NASA’s Orion spacecraft and test versions of lunar landers in low Earth orbit. The lander providers are Blue Origin and SpaceX. Blue Origin’s vehicle is the Blue Moon Mark 2 test lander, and SpaceX’s is a Starship Version 3 test article.

NASA’s revised plan does not send the crew to the Moon on this flight. That is the single most important detail for anyone reading the “face off” headlines. The flight stays in Earth orbit from launch to splashdown, and the point of the exercise is to learn how big, unfamiliar vehicles behave when they fly close together.

CNN’s coverage, titled NASA lays out mad dash to test lunar landers next year , captured the pace. The word “dash” matters. NASA is compressing a series of integration questions into one crewed flight, and the schedule leaves little room for a surprise on either lander.

The decision also carries a limit that headline writers often skip. NASA has not assigned either lander provider a specific Artemis lunar-landing mission. The orbital test does not pick a winner.

It gathers data that will inform later choices. Why “Face Off” Overstates It: Two Separate Dockings The viral framing suggests Starship and Blue Moon will meet each other in space. The research behind this story points the other way.

NASA’s plan has Orion conduct separate rendezvous and docking demonstrations with each company’s test article. The two landers do not dock with one another, and reporting we reviewed does not describe any direct contact between them. So the contest is indirect.

Orion becomes the common reference point, and both companies get graded on how well their vehicle behaves when the capsule approaches. Think of it as two auditions in front of the same judge, held on different days, in different orbits. The billionaire angle is unconfirmed Nothing in the confirmed record says Musk or Bezos will take part in the mission personally.

The four seats belong to NASA and ESA astronauts. The rivalry is real at the corporate level, and it makes for a good headline, but it plays out in vehicle performance and not in who is aboard. The Crew and the 14-Day Flight Plan NASA lists four astronauts for Artemis III: Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio, Andre Douglas, and Luca Parmitano.

NASA describes the flight as a 14-day mission. That is long enough for launch, orbit-raising, two separate lander encounters, and the systems checks that come with any crewed Orion flight. A two-week profile also tells you something about priorities.

The agency is not treating this as a quick hop. It wants the crew to evaluate Orion itself, since the capsule will spend days in an orbit very different from the one its previous crewed flight used. NASA has said the crew will also run human-research work, science experiments, and technology demonstrations alongside the two docking tests.

The crew mix reflects the international structure of the program. Parmitano flies for the European Space Agency, while the other three are NASA astronauts. That matches how Artemis has been sold from the start, as a partnership program where hardware and seats are shared across agencies.

Orbit Table: Where Each Vehicle Flies The orbit numbers are where the hardware story gets interesting. Each vehicle flies at a different altitude, and Orion has to change its own orbit to reach them. The table below collects the figures NASA published.

Vehicle Provider Planned orbit Notes from NASA Orion NASA Elliptical 18 x 1,122 miles (16 x 975 nautical miles), then circular at about 345 miles (300 nautical miles) Starts elliptical, then transitions to circular Blue Moon Mark 2 test lander Blue Origin Circular, about 273 miles (237 nautical miles) Can stay up to 30 days Starship Version 3 test article SpaceX 206 nautical miles Carries an added forward docking system Mission length NASA Low Earth orbit 14 days Crew NASA and ESA Four astronauts Bresnik, Rubio, Douglas, Parmitano A quick unit conversion shows the spacing.

Starship’s 206 nautical miles works out to roughly 237 statute miles. Blue Moon sits about 31 nautical miles higher, and Orion’s final circular orbit at 300 nautical miles sits 63 nautical miles above Blue Moon and 94 above Starship. Those are real altitude changes, and each one costs propellant and flight-control attention.

Blue Moon Mark 2: What Blue Origin Brings Blue Origin’s test article is built around the Blue Moon Mark 2 design. NASA’s earlier decision to pick the company as the second provider is documented in its announcement, NASA Selects Blue Origin as Second Artemis Lunar Lander Provider .

The Artemis III test is the first time that selection turns into crewed-flight hardware in orbit. The planned orbit gives Blue Origin one clear operational advantage. NASA says the Blue Moon test article can remain in its circular orbit for up to 30 days.

A 14-day Orion mission fits comfortably inside that window, which gives the team slack if the encounter needs to be retried or delayed by a day or two. The 30-day figure also hints at how Blue Origin wants to run the test. A vehicle that can loiter that long does not need the schedule to be perfect.

For a team working through a first-of-its-kind crewed encounter, that margin is valuable. What the sources do not confirm is any completed orbital flight of the Mark 2-based vehicle. Reporting describes it as part of a planned development campaign.

Treat any claim that it has already flown as unverified. Starship Version 3: The Forward Docking System SpaceX’s contribution is a Starship Version 3 test article, and NASA says it will carry an added forward docking system. That detail is easy to miss and important.

Starship was designed as a large reusable vehicle, and a docking port at the nose is hardware that has to be integrated, qualified, and flown on a vehicle whose basic configuration keeps evolving. The planned orbit is lower than Blue Origin’s at 206 nautical miles. Reporting attributed to NASA says that altitude supports communications coverage and the rendezvous with Orion.

A lower orbit also means the vehicle is more exposed to atmospheric drag over time, which is one reason the Starship encounter is a shorter, tighter event than Blue Moon’s open-ended stay. For readers who follow the launch side of the story, our coverage of the Florida Starship booster catch tower at LC-39A shows how much ground infrastructure SpaceX is building around this vehicle family.

The Artemis III article is one more use of that same platform, and it will not be the last. NASA’s own wording on the crew’s role is blunt. In the agency’s description of the Starship demonstration, it says the crew will not enter Starship during this test.

The docking is a hardware and flight-control check. It is not a habitation test. Why Orion Needs Three Different Altitudes Orion launches into an elliptical Earth orbit, then moves to a circular orbit near 300 nautical miles.

The two landers sit at 237 and 206 nautical miles. In plain terms, the capsule has to climb to one target, hand off the relative geometry, then come back down to meet the other. The reason for staggering altitudes is partly practical.

Launch vehicles put payloads into the orbits they can reach with the performance available. Communications coverage also matters, since ground stations and relay satellites cover some altitudes better than others. NASA has tied Starship’s lower orbit to those coverage needs.

Phasing is the hidden challenge Rendezvous in orbit is mostly a timing problem. A spacecraft in a lower orbit travels faster than one in a higher orbit, so closing the gap means managing phase angle with small burns over many orbits. Each encounter requires its own plan, its own contingencies, and its own go or no-go decision.

That is why the 14-day timeline matters. Two rendezvous operations, with a separation and re-approach in between, need buffer days. A shorter mission would force NASA to pick one lander and skip the other, and the agency has chosen not to do that.

What the Verified Quotes Say NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman has described the plan in his own words. In remarks reported by Ars Technica in April, he said: “I’ve received responses from both vendors, both SpaceX and Blue Origin, to meet our needs for a late 2027 rendezvous, docking, and test of the interoperability of both landers in advance of a landing attempt in 2028.” That timeline predates the latest update, and NASA’s current public language centers on 2027 without a firm launch day.

Isaacman also explained the operational goal when NASA gave its October 23 update, as relayed by Spectrum News 13. He said: “And if you’ve seen some of the Starship images, a very large vehicle. So, we want to learn how to control attitude together, how we’re going to fly these vehicles together and how we’re going to operate.” The emphasis on attitude control is telling.

A large vehicle docked to a capsule creates a combined stack with unusual mass properties. NASA’s own mission description gives the clearest limit on the Starship test: “The crew will not enter Starship during this test.” The agency’s summary also lists what else the crew will do.

It says: “Beyond the two docking demonstrations, the crew will conduct Orion systems and crew-survival-suit evaluations, human research, science experiments, and technology demonstrations”. That summary appeared in coverage by Florida Today. A NASA official on the agency’s Houston We Have a Podcast made a related point.

The proximity-operations experience from Artemis II, including close flying around an upper stage, feeds directly into docking with real landers. We paraphrase that remark here because the exact phrasing is long and we could not verify it word for word against the audio. Historical Context: From Gemini to Apollo 9 to Artemis III Testing a lander in Earth orbit before heading to the Moon is not a new idea.

NASA did it during Apollo. Gemini 8 achieved the first docking of two spacecraft in orbit in March 1966, using an Agena target vehicle. Three years later, Apollo 9 flew in March 1969 and put the lunar module through its first crewed tests in Earth orbit, including separation and re-docking with the command module.

Apollo 10 followed in May 1969 as a dress rehearsal in lunar orbit, and Apollo 11 landed that July. The pattern was clear. Orbit first, then lunar orbit, then the surface.

Artemis III revives the first rung of that ladder, which is why the program’s planners keep returning to Apollo precedent. Our piece on the Apollo playbook for a 2028 Moon landing traces how closely the current schedule borrows from it. The differences are just as instructive.

Apollo 9 tested one government-built lunar module. Artemis III tests two commercial vehicles from competing providers, neither of which has a lunar landing assigned yet. NASA is buying data about interoperability, and that makes this a procurement exercise as much as an engineering one.

Competitive Comparison: SpaceX vs Blue Origin on the Test Article The table below compares only what NASA has published. Where the sources are silent, the cell says so, because filling those gaps with estimates would be guesswork. Factor Blue Origin SpaceX Test vehicle Blue Moon Mark 2 test lander Starship Version 3 test article Orbit Circular, 273 miles (237 nautical miles) 206 nautical miles Time on orbit Up to 30 days Not specified in the sources reviewed Docking hardware Not detailed in the sources reviewed Added forward docking system Crew entry Not confirmed in NASA’s published facts Crew will not enter Starship Lunar landing assigned No No Contract values for this test Unconfirmed Unconfirmed The comparison shows two different philosophies.

Blue Origin offers a long loiter time in a higher orbit. SpaceX offers a lower, more tightly managed encounter with new docking hardware bolted to a vehicle still maturing in production and testing. Neither approach is clearly better on paper, and the flight will decide which one reads as more mature.

The broader landing question remains open. Our earlier reporting on NASA holding a 2028 Moon landing open for two landers explains why the agency is keeping both options alive. Artemis III supplies the first hard flight data that could tilt that decision.

Market Impact: Who Gains From a Two-Lander Test NASA has not published contract values for this particular orbital test in the sources we reviewed, so any dollar figure circulating online should be treated as unverified. What can be said is qualitative. A crewed flight that features both providers raises the visibility of each company’s lander program and gives suppliers of docking mechanisms, avionics, and flight software a concrete integration milestone to point to.

Investors tend to read these missions as signals. A clean docking would strengthen the case for whichever company delivers it. A scrubbed or delayed encounter would feed doubts about readiness.

SpaceX’s wider business is already large enough that a single mission rarely moves the whole story, as our look at SpaceX’s AI revenue and profit shows. Blue Origin is privately held, so its exposure shows up in reputation and in future NASA awards. For the hardware cluster more broadly, the test pushes docking systems, life-support interfaces, and guidance software into the spotlight.

Readers following that space can find related coverage in our hardware section . Component makers rarely get named in NASA announcements, yet they ride on every one of these milestones. What Is Still Unconfirmed Several claims floating around social media have no support in the confirmed record.

The table below separates what NASA has said from what remains open. Claim Status Artemis III launches in 2027 Confirmed by NASA Mission is Earth-orbit only, no Moon landing Confirmed Four named astronauts fly Orion Confirmed 14-day mission length Confirmed Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos fly on the mission Unconfirmed A specific launch day or launch sequence Unconfirmed Contract values or prices for the test Unconfirmed Both vehicles reach orbit and dock successfully Unconfirmed, a plan and not a result The last row deserves emphasis.

Everything described here is a plan. Starship Version 3 is described as in production and testing, and the Blue Moon test article is part of a development campaign. A plan can slip, change, or fail in ways that no announcement predicts.

Five Predictions for the Artemis III Lander Test These are our own readings of the situation. They are not statements from NASA, SpaceX, or Blue Origin, and none is guaranteed. Schedule pressure will concentrate on one vehicle.

With a single launch window in 2027 and two test articles, whichever lander is less ready will set the pace for the whole mission. Docking hardware will draw the most scrutiny. The forward docking system added to Starship is new equipment on an evolving vehicle, so expect it to be a focus of reviews before launch.

NASA will hold lunar-landing assignments until after the flight. Neither provider has a landing mission today, and the agency gains leverage by waiting for orbital data. Blue Origin’s 30-day loiter will give it schedule flexibility.

That margin should help absorb small slips on the Orion side. The rivalry narrative will intensify. Coverage will keep casting the mission as Musk against Bezos, even though the dockings are separate and the founders are not aboard.

Watch the Starship flight cadence in particular. Our report on Starship Flight 15 and its planned dual catch shows how SpaceX is stacking test events in the months before any crewed rendezvous. What to Watch Before Launch Several milestones will tell readers whether the 2027 target holds.

A firmer launch date from NASA would be the first signal. Starship Version 3 progress through production and testing will matter, as will any news about the docking system’s qualification. On the Blue Origin side, the key signal is how the Mark 2-based test vehicle moves from development toward flight.

Crew training is the quieter track. Four astronauts need to rehearse two different docking scenarios. Simulation hours and suit evaluations will build up long before launch day, though NASA rarely publicizes that work in detail.

The takeaway: the headline is bigger than the mission, but the mission still matters. Two commercial landers will share an orbital stage with Orion in 2027, and the data from that flight will shape which vehicle, or whether both, carries astronauts to the lunar surface later. Frequently Asked Questions Will SpaceX and Blue Origin vehicles dock with each other?

No. NASA’s plan has Orion dock with each company’s test article separately. The two landers are not described as meeting one another.

Does Artemis III land on the Moon? No. NASA’s revised plan keeps the crew in Earth orbit.

The flight tests rendezvous and docking between Orion and test versions of lunar landers in low Earth orbit. Who is flying on Artemis III? NASA lists Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio, Andre Douglas, and Luca Parmitano.

Nothing confirms that Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos will take part. When does Artemis III launch? NASA says 2027.

A specific launch day and final launch sequence have not been confirmed. How long is the mission? NASA describes it as a 14-day mission.

What orbits will the landers use? The Blue Moon test article is planned for a circular orbit about 273 miles (237 nautical miles) up, and it can stay for up to 30 days. The Starship test article is planned for a lower orbit at 206 nautical miles.

Orion starts in an 18 x 1,122 mile elliptical orbit and later moves to a circular orbit near 345 miles (300 nautical miles). Will the crew enter the landers? NASA says the crew will not enter Starship during its test.

The sources we reviewed do not confirm crew entry details for the Blue Moon test article in NASA’s published facts. Has either company won the Moon landing contract for Artemis? Neither lander provider has been assigned a specific Artemis lunar-landing mission, according to NASA’s decision as reported.