SpaceX Starship Delays Could Push NASA’s Artemis 3 Moon Landing to 2028, Documents Suggest

Key point: An internal SpaceX schedule obtained by Politico indicates that setbacks in Starship development may force NASA to delay the crewed Artemis 3 lunar landing from 2027 to as late as September 2028.

What the documents say

According to the internal SpaceX timeline, the company is targeting June 2026 for the first demonstration of orbital cryogenic refueling between Starship vehicles and June 2027 for an uncrewed lunar landing. If those milestones succeed without major problems, SpaceX estimates the earliest possible crewed lunar-landing attempt would be in September 2028. Politico reports the dates have not yet been formally presented to NASA; SpaceX plans to include them in an "integrated master schedule" due in December.

How this affects NASA’s Artemis program

NASA has been targeting 2027 for Artemis 3. A slip to 2028 would widen the gap between Artemis missions to more than two years — longer than the agency’s current planning cadence. For context, Artemis 2 (an uncrewed crew‑transfer around the Moon) could fly as early as February 2026 under present NASA timelines, and Artemis 1 was an uncrewed lunar-orbit flight that launched in November 2022.

Starship’s recent progress and remaining challenges

Starship entered integrated test flights in 2023. The program has logged important milestones — including successful catch-and-recovery tests of the Super Heavy booster using the launch tower's "Mechazilla" arms, two Super Heavy reflights, and soft-touchdown recoveries of the Ship upper stage during recent tests.

However, 2025 has been mixed: of five reported Starship launches that year, the first three lost the Ship upper stage in orbit or during reentry, while the later two launches of the revised "Block 2" configuration demonstrated several critical capabilities.

Why refueling matters

To meet NASA’s requirements for Artemis 3, SpaceX estimates the Starship lunar lander would need multiple in-space refueling operations — as many as a dozen — to accumulate enough propellant to descend to the lunar surface and then ascend back to lunar orbit. Orbital cryogenic fuel transfer between Starship vehicles is therefore a pivotal, yet still-unproven, capability.

Contract implications and next steps

SpaceX acknowledges its internal timeline falls outside the original NASA contract milestones and says it will seek to negotiate new deadlines with the agency. The company plans to submit its integrated master schedule in December, at which point NASA and SpaceX will likely begin discussions about revised milestones and timelines.

While full reusability and routine terrestrial recovery are central to SpaceX’s long-term goals for Starship — and to ambitions for Mars — NASA’s immediate requirement for Artemis 3 centers on proven in-space refueling and a successful uncrewed lunar landing. Until those capabilities are demonstrated, the Artemis 3 schedule remains dependent on SpaceX’s development progress.

Sources: Internal SpaceX schedule reported by Politico; public NASA timelines and Artemis program milestones.