Upcoming Artemis Moon missions will see a significant cost reduction

DENVER, October 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Lockheed Martin LMT is now under contract to deliver three Orion spacecraft to NASA for their Artemis VI-VIII missions and continues to deliver reconnaissance vehicles to the agency to launch astronauts into space and around the moon and to support the Artemis program.

Lockheed Martin is NASA’s prime contractor for the Orion program and has completed two Orion vehicles – EFT-1, which flew in 2014, and Artemis Iwhich is weeks away from its launch to the moon and is actively building vehicles for the Artemis II-V missions.

“Lockheed Martin is honored to work with NASA to deliver Orion spacecraft for NASA’s Artemis missions. This order includes spacecraft, mission planning and support and takes us into the 2030s,” said Lisa Callahan, Vice President and General Manager, Commercial Civil Space, Lockheed Martin. “We are on the verge of a historic launch that ushers in the Artemis Era, and this contract shows that NASA is making long-term plans for living and working on the moon while also focusing on getting humans to Mars.”

This order marks the second three missions under the agency’s Orion Production and Operations Contract (OPOC), an indefinite supply and quantity (IDIQ) contract for up to 12 vehicles. A breakdown of these orders includes:

• 2019: NASA initiates OPOC IDIQ and ordered three Orion probe for Artemis
  Missions III-V.
• 2022: NASA orders three additional Orion spacecraft missions for Artemis VI-VIII for $1.99 billion.
• In the future: NASA may order another six Orion missions.

Under OPOC, Lockheed Martin and NASA reduced the cost on Orion by 50% per vehicle on Artemis III through Artemis V compared to vehicles built during the design and development phase. Vehicles built for Artemis VI, VII, and VIII will receive an additional 30% cost reduction.

“We are realizing significant cost savings with Artemis III…