NASA’s October 23, 2026 plan describes Artemis III as a crewed, 14-day rehearsal in low Earth orbit, planned for 2027, rather than a lunar landing. Orion is to dock with Blue Origin’s Blue Moon Mark 2 and later with SpaceX’s Starship Version 3, testing two different spacecraft interfaces before NASA’s planned crewed lunar landings in 2028. NASA’s mission plan lays out the sequence.
NeoTeo previously outlined NASA’s plan for a 2027 orbital rehearsal; this article focuses on the agency’s detailed docking sequence and what each demonstration is designed to assess. Read the earlier Artemis III overview.
Artemis III is a crewed orbital rehearsal
NASA names Randy Bresnik, Frank Rubio, Andre Douglas and European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano for the mission. Three spacecraft are planned to launch on three heavy-lift rockets: Blue Origin’s New Glenn carries the Blue Moon Mark 2 test article, NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) carries Orion and the crew, and SpaceX’s Starship carries the Starship Version 3 test article later in the sequence.
NASA plans to launch Blue Moon first, then send Orion days later after the lander is confirmed healthy. The crew is to spend about two days checking Orion before rendezvousing with Blue Moon. A rendezvous brings spacecraft together; docking connects them.
What Orion will assess with Blue Moon
NASA plans to have the crew enter the Blue Moon Mark 2 test article after docking and spend about two days assessing its cabin environment, controls, atmosphere, pressure and life-support systems. Blue Moon is planned to orbit about 237 nautical miles above Earth in a circular path. NASA says the test article can remain in orbit for up to 30 days, giving the mission schedule flexibility.
What the Starship docking test will assess
The later Starship Version 3 demonstration is planned for an orbit 206 nautical miles above Earth. NASA expects the Orion-Starship docking test to last up to two hours. The astronauts will remain aboard Orion rather than enter Starship.
NASA plans to evaluate how the spacecraft handle control, communications, integrated software, and docking and undocking dynamics. The Starship test therefore focuses on the interaction between the vehicles and their systems, while the Blue Moon phase also includes crew entry and cabin evaluations.
The tests use different interfaces and orbits
NASA describes a different docking arrangement for each test. Orion is to connect to a port beside Blue Moon’s crew cabin, then align its forward docking system with the nose-mounted system on Starship. The distinction matters because the mission is planned to exercise Orion with two separate docking configurations, not repeat one connection unchanged.
| Planned test article and launcher | Planned test orbit | Orion docking interface | Crew activity | NASA’s planned evaluation |
| Blue Moon Mark 2, launched on New Glenn | Circular orbit at about 237 nautical miles | Port beside the crew cabin | Crew enters the test article for about two days | Cabin environment, controls, atmosphere, pressure and life-support systems |
| Starship Version 3 test article, launched later on Starship | 206 nautical miles | Starship’s nose-mounted system meets Orion’s forward docking system | Crew remains aboard Orion; test lasts up to two hours | Controllability, communications, integrated software, and docking and undocking dynamics |
Orion’s planned orbit sequence adds another stage: it starts in an elliptical orbit of 16 by 975 nautical miles, then moves to about 300 nautical miles for thermal stabilization before rendezvous operations. That stabilization orbit is separate from the planned Blue Moon and Starship test orbits.
NASA also plans up to five additional days of Orion activities, including suit evaluations, docking-sensor tests, acoustic and thermal measurements, human-factors assessments, science and technology demonstrations, and an assessment of astronaut health when direct communication with mission control is unavailable.
