NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman Emphasizes Annual Rocket Launches Amidst New Moon Race with China
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman is prioritizing annual launches of the Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket for the Artemis program, aiming for at least one launch per year. This strategy is driven by the ongoing 'new space race' with China. Following the successful Artemis II mission in April 2026, Isaacman expressed confidence in the U.S. space program's trajectory toward lunar landings and establishing a permanent moon base. The upcoming Artemis III mission, scheduled for 2027, will be a crewed flight to low Earth orbit to test docking procedures between the Orion capsule and private lunar landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin. Isaacman stressed the importance of consistently exercising NASA's deep-space human spaceflight capabilities to prepare for future missions like Artemis IV, which targets a crewed lunar landing in 2028.
