Once unthinkable, NASA and Lockheed now consider launching Orion on other rockets

"The Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket have been attached at the hip for the better part of two decades. The big rocket lifts, the smaller spacecraft flies, and Congress keeps the money rolling in. But now there are signs that the twain may, in the not too distant future, split. This is because Lockheed Martin has begun to pivot toward a future in which the Orion spacecraft-thanks to increasing reusability, a focus on cost, and openness to flying on different rockets-fits into commercial space applications. In interviews, company officials said that if NASA wanted to buy Orion missions as a "service," rather than owning and operating the spacecraft, they were ready to work with the space agency."

"This represents a significant change. Since the US Congress called for the creation of the Space Launch System rocket a decade and a half ago, Orion and this rocket have been discussed in tandem, forming the backbone of an expendable architecture that would launch humans to the Moon and return them to Earth inside Orion. Through cost-plus contracts, NASA would pay for the rockets and spacecraft to be built, closely supervise all of this, and then operate the vehicles after delivery."

""We're trying to crawl, then walk, then run into our reuse strategy.""

""Our message is we absolutely support it, and we're starting that discussion now,""

Lockheed Martin is pivoting the Orion spacecraft toward increased reusability, lower cost, and commercial applications, including willingness to offer missions as a service to NASA. The historical tandem of Orion and the Space Launch System (SLS) under an expendable, cost-plus procurement model is shifting as budgets and policy change. The White House proposed ending Orion and SLS funding after Artemis III, while Congress pushed to continue through Artemis V, creating uncertainty about future flights. Moving to a services model could decouple Orion from SLS, enable flights on other rockets, and change procurement and operations responsibilities.

Read at Ars Technica