NASA has canceled the Exploration Upper Stage for its Space Launch System rocket as part of a major revision to the Artemis program. The decision, announced by Administrator Jared Isaacman, aims to accelerate lunar landings by focusing on surface activities and using more efficient upper stages. This move supports testing of human landers from SpaceX and Blue Origin ahead of missions in 2027 and 2028.
NASA's Artemis program underwent a significant restructuring in early 2026, with Administrator Jared Isaacman prioritizing faster progress toward lunar surface missions. On March 6, 2026, a government procurement notice indicated that NASA plans to issue a sole source contract to United Launch Alliance for next-generation upper stages, specifically the Centaur V, for Artemis IV and V missions. This effectively ends development of the Exploration Upper Stage, contracted to Boeing over a decade ago for more than $3.5 billion since 2016, including an initial $962 million award.
The Exploration Upper Stage was intended to enable the Space Launch System to launch the Orion spacecraft alongside large payloads to the Moon. However, advancements by SpaceX, Blue Origin, and United Launch Alliance rendered it obsolete. Initial plans called for its use on the second SLS flight in 2021, but it remained years from readiness. The associated launch tower at Kennedy Space Center, originally estimated at $383 million, exceeded $2 billion in costs.
Isaacman's changes, unveiled last week before March 6, 2026, include canceling the Lunar Gateway space station and standardizing the SLS upper stage. Artemis III is set for launch next year, with one or two lunar landings targeted for 2028. To facilitate this, NASA met with SpaceX and Blue Origin engineers on January 13, 2026, where Isaacman stated, “We will challenge every requirement, clear every obstacle, delete every blocker and empower the team to deliver… and we will do it with time to spare.”
Docking requirements have shifted from the near-rectilinear halo orbit to options like the Elliptical Polar Orbit with Coplanar Line of Apsides (EPO/CoLA), which approaches within 100 km of the Moon's surface. SpaceX plans to prioritize its Starship human landing system, potentially docking in Earth orbit, while Blue Origin is refining a plan using three New Glenn launches without orbital refueling for its Blue Moon MK2. The US Senate has indicated broad support for these adjustments.
