This article is based on an official press release and annual report from NASA and the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP).

ASAP 2025 Report: A Safety “Wake-Up Call” for NASA Amid Artemis Risks and Starliner Fallout

The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) released its 2025 Annual Report on February 25, 2026, delivering a stark assessment of NASA’s current safety posture. The report arrives at a critical juncture for the agency, following the confirmation of Jared Isaacman as NASA Administrator in December 2025 and the recent classification of the Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test failure as a “Type A” mishap.

According to the panel’s findings, NASA’s ambitious objectives, specifically the Artemis lunar campaign and the transition to commercial Low Earth Orbit (LEO) operations, are currently threatened by a “complex environment” defined by shrinking budgets, workforce attrition, and inconsistent acquisition strategies. The ASAP has called for an immediate shift in strategy to stabilize the agency’s direction over the next two decades.

A Call for a 20-Year Strategic Vision

The panel’s primary recommendation challenges NASA to move beyond reactive decision-making. The report urges the agency to develop a comprehensive Strategic Vision for the Future of Space Exploration and Operations that spans at least the next 20 years.

The ASAP argues that NASA currently operates “one day at a time,” often resulting in inconsistent actions that compromise long-term safety and efficiency. To rectify this, the panel suggests a long-term plan that clearly defines NASA’s role relative to its commercial partners and establishes explicit criteria for “make, manage, or buy” decisions regarding future systems.

“The agency’s biggest challenges stem from interconnected factors – workforce, acquisition, technical authority, budgets, and the growing complexity of human spaceflight.”

— Lt. Gen. Susan J. Helms, ASAP Chair

Artemis III Labeled “High-Risk”

One of the most concerning findings in the 2025 report is the classification of the Artemis III mission, currently targeted for mid-2027, as having a “high-risk posture.” This mission aims to return humans to the lunar surface for the first time since the Apollo program.

Unproven Architecture

The ASAP flagged the mission architecture as a significant source of risk. Artemis III involves “numerous new operations” that have never been tested in an integrated environment. These include the docking of the Orion capsule with SpaceX’s Starship Human Landing System (HLS) and the execution of the first crewed landing on the lunar South Pole.

Starship Readiness Concerns

The report specifically highlights technical immaturity regarding the Starship lander. According to the panel, the vehicle is behind schedule, contributing to “accumulating risks” that could jeopardize crew safety. The ASAP has recommended that NASA re-examine the mission objectives and architecture to ensure that the risk profile is balanced against the scientific and operational goals.

The Shadow of Starliner

The report leans heavily on lessons learned from the Boeing Starliner Crew Flight Test (CFT). Launched in June 2024, the mission suffered thruster failures and helium leaks, leaving astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on the International Space Station (ISS) for approximately nine months before their return in March 2025 aboard a SpaceX Dragon.

NASA recently classified this event as a “Type A” mishap, the agency’s most severe classification, historically shared by the Challenger and Columbia tragedies. The ASAP criticized what it termed “uneven technical oversight” and “excessive reliance on the contractor,” noting that these factors weakened accountability. The panel advised a realignment of how NASA manages commercial contracts to prevent safety from being compromised by schedule or cost pressures.

ISS and Deorbit Urgency

While looking toward the Moon, the ASAP also reiterated concerns regarding the International Space Station. The panel described the current operational phase as the station’s “riskiest period,” citing aging infrastructure and persistent leaks in the Russian segment.

Furthermore, the report expressed urgent concern regarding deorbit planning. The panel emphasized that a U.S. deorbit vehicle must be ready and certified before the station reaches the end of its life to ensure a controlled reentry and avoid a catastrophic uncontrolled descent.

AirPro News Analysis

The release of the 2025 ASAP report marks a significant test for Administrator Jared Isaacman. As a private astronaut and entrepreneur, Isaacman represents the commercial integration the agency is pursuing. However, the ASAP is effectively signaling that NASA cannot outsource its safety culture. The explicit demand for a “timely declaration of mishap”, a direct reference to the delayed transparency during the Starliner incident, suggests that the new leadership will be held to a higher standard of openness.

We anticipate that this report may lead to a restructuring of the Artemis timeline. With the “Type A” designation of the Starliner flight fresh in the public record, the agency is unlikely to accept the “high-risk posture” of Artemis III without significant architectural changes or delays to allow for further testing of the Starship HLS.

Sources

Sources: NASA

This article is based on an official press release from Lockheed Martin and additional industry reporting regarding NASA’s Fission Surface Power program.

Lockheed Martin Advances Fission Surface Power to Meet NASA’s New 100-Kilowatt Lunar Goal

As the global race to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon accelerates, the engineering challenges of the lunar environment are becoming increasingly critical. Foremost among them is the “lunar night,” a two-week period of freezing darkness that renders standard solar power ineffective. In response, Lockheed Martin is advancing its Fission Surface Power (FSP) technology, a nuclear solution designed to provide continuous, reliable energy for future lunar bases.

According to an official press release from Lockheed Martin, the company is positioning its fission reactor concept as the backbone of a sustainable lunar grid. This technology is essential not only for survival during the long lunar night but also for powering the industrial machinery required for In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), such as mining water ice for fuel.

Recent industry developments have significantly raised the stakes. As detailed in NASA directives from late 2025, the agency has pivoted its requirements, moving from a 40-kilowatt (kWe) demonstration to a more ambitious 100 kwe target by 2030. This shift underscores the urgency of the Artemis program and the need for robust power infrastructure to support a sustained human footprint.

Conquering the Lunar Night

The primary driver for nuclear power on the Moon is the celestial mechanics of the lunar cycle. A single lunar day lasts approximately 29.5 Earth days, meaning any location on the surface experiences roughly 14 consecutive days of sunlight followed by 14 days of darkness.

Lockheed Martin highlights the severity of this environment in their release. During the lunar night, temperatures can plummet to -280°F (-173°C). Relying solely on solar power would require massive battery banks to store two weeks’ worth of energy, a solution that is currently prohibitively heavy and expensive to launch from Earth.

Fission Surface Power offers a solution by operating independently of the Sun. By splitting uranium atoms in a reactor, the system generates heat that is converted into electricity, providing a steady “baseload” of power 24/7. This ensures that life support systems, rovers, and scientific experiments can continue uninterrupted regardless of the time of day.

NASA’s Strategic Pivot: The 100 kWe Requirement

While Lockheed Martin’s initial designs were part of a Phase 1 effort targeting a 40 kWe system, the landscape of lunar exploration changed in August 2025. According to industry reporting and NASA directives, the agency scrapped the lower power target in favor of a 100 kWe class reactor. This upgrade is intended to support a larger lunar base and industrial processing capabilities sooner than originally planned.

The timeline for this deployment is aggressive. NASA aims to have a launch-ready reactor by 2030. This acceleration is widely viewed by industry analysts as a strategic response to the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS), a competing project by China and Russia that targets a similar nuclear-powered presence in the mid-2030s.

Lockheed Martin has publicly embraced this shift. In statements regarding the program, company leadership has affirmed their readiness to scale their designs. While the fundamental physics of fission remain the same, the engineering challenge lies in packaging a more powerful reactor into a form factor that can be launched on a rocket and landed safely on the lunar surface.

Technical Innovations: The Hybrid Grid

Lockheed Martin’s approach to lunar energy is not limited to nuclear power alone. The company is advocating for a “Lunar Power Grid” that integrates fission with solar technology to maximize efficiency and redundancy.

Vertical Solar Array Technology (VSAT)

Alongside the reactor, Lockheed Martin is developing Vertical Solar Array Technology (VSAT). These are tall, deployable masts designed specifically for the lunar South Pole, where the sun remains low on the horizon. By capturing this low-angle light, VSAT can handle peak power loads during the lunar day.

Thermal Management Systems

One of the most significant technical hurdles for a lunar reactor is cooling. On Earth, power plants use water or air to dissipate excess heat. In the vacuum of space, there is no air to carry heat away. According to Lockheed Martin, their engineering teams are focusing heavily on advanced radiator designs and thermal management systems to reject waste heat efficiently, a critical component for preventing the reactor from overheating.

Power Conversion

To convert the reactor’s heat into electricity, the system is expected to utilize a Brayton cycle engine. This method uses heated gas to spin a turbine and is favored by NASA for its high efficiency and scalability compared to other methods, such as Stirling engines.

AirPro News Analysis

The shift from a 40 kWe to a 100 kWe requirement represents a massive leap in engineering complexity, particularly given the 2030 deadline. While the underlying nuclear technology is mature, the U.S. has flown nuclear reactors in space as far back as 1965, the integration of such a high-power system into a lander remains a formidable challenge.

We observe that this pivot signals a change in NASA‘s risk tolerance. By demanding a full-scale industrial power source immediately rather than a smaller demonstrator, the agency is acknowledging that power is the bottleneck for all other lunar ambitions. Without 100 kWe, producing propellant from lunar ice, a key goal for Mars missions, would be nearly impossible. Lockheed Martin’s strategy of pairing nuclear with solar (VSAT) appears to be a prudent hedge, offering a diversified grid that mimics terrestrial power infrastructure.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can’t we just use batteries for the lunar night?
Current battery technology is too heavy. Launching enough batteries to power a base for 14 days would require multiple heavy-lift rocket launches, making it economically unviable compared to a compact nuclear reactor.

Is the reactor safe to launch?
Fission surface power systems are designed to be launched “cold,” meaning the reactor is not turned on until it has safely landed on the Moon. It contains no highly radioactive fission products during launch.

When will this reactor be on the Moon?
Under the new NASA directive issued in August 2025, the target for a launch-ready 100 kWe reactor is 2030.

Sources

• Lockheed Martin: Fission Surface Power
• NASA Directives & Solicitations (August 2025)

This article is based on an official press release from Applied Aerospace & Defense.

Applied Aerospace & Defense Acquires Vestigo Aerospace to Tackle Space Debris

On February 24, 2026, Applied Aerospace & Defense (Applied) announced the acquisitions of Vestigo Aerospace, a specialist in space debris mitigation technologies. The transaction integrates Vestigo’s proprietary Spinnaker® deorbit systems into Applied’s broader portfolio, positioning the company to address increasingly stringent regulatory requirements for satellite disposal.

The acquisition marks a significant step in the industrialization of space sustainability. By bringing Vestigo’s passive deorbiting hardware in-house, Applied aims to offer a streamlined solution for satellite operators facing the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) “5-Year Rule,” which mandates the removal of satellites from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) within five years of mission completion.

Integrating Passive Deorbit Technology

At the core of this acquisition is Vestigo’s Spinnaker® product line. According to the company’s announcement, these systems utilize large drag sails to passively deorbit satellites at the end of their operational lives. Unlike active deorbiting methods that require thrusters and fuel reserves, the Spinnaker® system deploys a sail that increases atmospheric drag, accelerating the satellite’s orbital decay until it burns up in the Earth’s atmosphere.

Technical Capabilities

Data provided in the announcement highlights the versatility of the Spinnaker® technology. The systems are designed to handle a wide range of hardware, from small satellites to launch vehicle stages weighing up to 1,000 kg. The technology is effective at altitudes up to 800 km for compliance with the 5-year deorbit timeline, and up to 1,000 km for the traditional 25-year standard.

Because the system does not rely on propulsion, it offers a critical compliance pathway for satellites that lack onboard engines, allowing operators to meet legal requirements without sacrificing payload mass or fuel capacity.

Strategic Rationale and Leadership

The deal underscores a broader trend of consolidation within the space supply chain. Applied Aerospace & Defense, formed in December 2025 through the merger of Applied Aerospace and PCX Aerosystems, has been aggressively expanding its capabilities. This acquisition follows the March 2025 purchase of NeXolve, a manufacturer of polymer films and sunshields.

Vestigo founder Dr. David Spencer, a former mission manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), will join Applied as the Vice President of Deployable Systems. In the press statement, Dr. Spencer emphasized the scalability of the combined entity:

“We are proud to join the Applied team and look forward to accelerating the evolution of Spinnaker® as a proactive and scalable solution for deorbit compliance.”

The integration is described as a natural progression for both firms; Vestigo had previously utilized Applied as a supplier for the advanced thin-film polymer materials and deployable booms used in its sails.

AirPro News Analysis

This acquisition signals a shift in the space industry from discussing sustainability as a theoretical goal to treating it as a hardware requirement. The regulatory pressure from the FCC and the FAA is forcing operators to “check the box” on disposal plans before launch licenses are granted. By acquiring Vestigo, Applied is positioning itself not just as a component manufacturer, but as a regulatory compliance partner.

Furthermore, the move illustrates the influence of private equity in the space sector. Backed by Greenbriar Equity Group, Applied is building a vertically integrated platform capable of delivering end-to-end subsystems. This strategy likely aims to capture value from the thousands of satellites projected to launch, and eventually deorbit, in the coming decade.

Sources

• Applied Aerospace & Defense