ARTEMIS TRACKERARTEMIS III // LANDER PROFILE Both landers
SpaceXHLS // 02MISSION 03

ARTEMIS III // Full-scale nose-docking and vehicle-control demonstration

Starship HLS

A full-scale Starship Version 3 fitted with an Orion-compatible nose docking system to test how two very different spacecraft meet, connect and operate as one stack.
Mission orbit
Circular low Earth orbit
Launch position
After the Blue Moon phase
Docking target
Orion is the chaser
Test configuration
Starship Version 3
Artist's concept of the Starship Version 3 test article approaching Orion above Earth
02
ARTEMIS III TEST ARTICLESpaceX
TEST PROFILE
52 MVehicle height
0Crew entering
NOSEDocking position
HLSControls docked stack
HLS // A3

01 // Vehicle background

Built for the next lunar era.

NASA and SpaceX are developing a lunar-lander version of Starship as a human landing system. The future lunar vehicle is intended to carry astronauts from lunar orbit to the surface, provide living space during an expedition and return the crew to orbit.

The Artemis III article uses SpaceX's current 52-metre Starship Version 3 as the basis of the future HLS. A docking system added to the nose allows Orion to connect nose-to-nose with the much larger spacecraft during the Earth-orbit demonstration.

Astronauts will not enter Starship on Artemis III. Instead, NASA and SpaceX will focus on docking performance, communications, controllability and the motion of the integrated Orion-Starship stack.

02 // Artemis III operations

The orbital test sequence.

  1. 01

    Launch

    SpaceX launches the uncrewed test article after Blue Moon operations are complete.

  2. 02

    Rendezvous

    Starship reaches the mission orbit while Orion prepares for its second close approach.

  3. 03

    Nose docking

    Orion approaches as the chaser and docks nose-to-nose with the Starship test vehicle.

  4. 04

    Control tests

    Starship controls the combined stack while teams test dynamics, software and communications.

03 // Beyond the test flight

The lunar destination.

The lunar Starship HLS is being developed to transport astronauts between lunar orbit and the surface, act as their living quarters during early expeditions and return them to Orion for the journey home.