Lockheed Martin Corporation LMT, alongside other contractors, including Elon Musk's SpaceX, is reportedly facing development challenges that have led NASA to postpone its Artemis moon program.
Consequently, NASA has now scheduled its first astronaut lunar landing in half a century for 2026, Reuters reported, citing NASA administrator Bill Nelson's statements in a news conference.
The U.S. space agency postponed the initial two Artemis missions involving astronauts by nearly a year.
These delays, designed "to give the Artemis teams more time to work through the challenges," have affected the program's timeline, Nelson told reporters, Reuters noted.
NASA has announced that Artemis 3, the program's first crewed moon landing which will utilize SpaceX's Starship, is now scheduled for September 2026. This mission was initially planned for late 2025, the report added.
The delays are partly due to issues and investigations related to Orion's heat shield, which is essential for protecting astronauts from the intense heat of re-entering Earth's atmosphere, as well as concerns with the spacecraft's batteries and electrical system, according to the Reuters report.
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The new schedule "acknowledges the very real development challenges that have been experienced by our industry partners," said Amit Kshatriya, head of NASA's moon and Mars exploration strategy, Reuters noted.
Although SpaceX has been conducting test launches of its Starship in Texas, there is still a considerable list of tasks to complete before the spacecraft is ready to carry astronauts to the moon.
One critical requirement is to show that it can successfully dock and refuel with other "tanker" Starships in orbit, a key aspect of its capability to transport astronauts beyond Earth's orbit, the report read.
Kshatriya described these tasks as "extremely challenging," the Reuters report added.
Price Action: LMT shares are trading higher by 0.35% to $457.90 premarket on the last check Wednesday.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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