“The Office of Procurement has sent letters to contractors performing excluded work (including all Artemis II contractors) indicating that work is permitted during the funding cessation period,” the official said. “The majority of workers have expressed a willingness to continue working if contract funding runs out before the government reopens.”
Working on borrowed time
The Artemis II team still has several months of work ahead of it to complete testing of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, complete training of astronauts and mission control teams, and then move the entire 322-foot (98-meter) launch vehicle to Launch Complex 39B for a fueling demonstration and countdown to launch.
Thousands of workers across the country, primarily in Florida, Texas and Alabama, are still responsible for meeting Artemis II's launch date early next year. In many cases they do not receive a salary.
Even as work continues, the government shutdown is creating inefficiencies that, if left unchecked, will inevitably impact Artemis II's schedule. Just look what happens to air traffic controllers throughout the US since many of them are forced to look for a second job due to non-payment of salaries. The funding impasse has led to widespread shortages of air traffic controllers and flight delays.
NASA astronaut and Artemis II pilot Victor Glover speaks to the press during the Artemis media event at the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, December 16, 2024.
Photo: Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/AFP via Getty Images
Kirk Shearman, vice president and Orion program manager at Lockheed Martin, said Tuesday that the shutdown initially created “trouble” for teams working on the Artemis II mission. But it won't just be a nuisance forever.
“I do think we're quickly approaching a point where this is going to have a significant impact, and it has more to do with overall infrastructure,” Shearman said in response to a question from Ars at the Von Braun Symposium on Space Exploration in Huntsville, Alabama.
“Some of you have flown here,” he said. “I suspect that if you weren't delayed in coming here, you're probably going to be delayed in getting home, even at the TSA airport. Anything that impacts people's lives is up to the government, and when it shuts down it's going to have its consequences, and it's probably those secondary impacts that will ultimately do that.”
