Despite the ongoing government shutdown, the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis 2 mission has been successfully integrated with its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. This crucial step brings the circumlunar flight closer to realization.

Sean Duffy, acting administrator of NASA, shared the news on social media on October 20th. He stated that the Orion spacecraft, nicknamed "Integrity" by its four-person crew, is now "fully attached" to the SLS within the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the Kennedy Space Center. The Orion capsule was moved to the VAB on October 16th after the launch abort system was fitted on top.

"The last major hardware component before Artemis II launches early next year has been installed," Duffy announced.

The stacking of the Orion spacecraft onto the SLS is proceeding despite the government shutdown. The shutdown started on October 1st after Congress failed to approve a continuing resolution for the 2026 fiscal year. This social media update from Duffy is one of the only communications as NASA is not updating its website or social media platforms during the shutdown.

During an interview with Fox News on October 20th, Duffy mentioned that NASA had received approval from the White House to continue preparations for Artemis 2 despite the shutdown. "We worked really hard with President Trump to make sure we don’t delay in a space race. We want to make sure that NASA and the critical missions like Artemis, we have our NASA scientists and technicians still working on the project," he said.

In September, NASA officials indicated they anticipated being able to continue launch preparations even during a shutdown, citing previous instances. Lakiesha Hawkins, acting deputy associate administrator in NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, stated on Sept. 23 that the agency had previously obtained exceptions for “safety-critical” activities, such as launch preparations, during shutdowns.

“This is obviously very safety critical and we anticipate being able to request, and being able to continue to move forward on, Artemis 2 in the event of a shutdown,” she said. “NASA would continue to support Artemis operations during any funding lapse,” the agency stated in its “continuity of appropriations” plan.

At the Kennedy Space Center, a significant number of civil servants (989 out of 2,075) are exempt from furloughs to facilitate Artemis 2 launch preparations, although they are not currently receiving pay. In contrast, at NASA’s Langley Research Center, only 34 of its 1,756 civil servants are excepted from furloughs, according to the NASA plan updated Sept. 29.

While the progress on Artemis 2 continues, the ability to publicly communicate about it is not included in the exceptions to furloughs. The American Astronautical Society’s Von Braun Space Exploration Symposium, initially scheduled for Oct. 27-29 in Huntsville, Alabama, planned a panel discussion on Artemis 2 featuring program leadership. However, the updated conference agenda released on Oct. 20 no longer features that panel, and other NASA officials like Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya and Associate Administrator for Science Nicola Fox are no longer scheduled to attend.