The arrival of the second Orion European Service Module (ESM) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in October signified the beginning of months of final assembly of the first crewed Orion spacecraft that will fly four people on the Artemis 2 mission. Following the delivery of the ESM from prime contractor Airbus Defence and Space to Orion prime contractor Lockheed Martin, the two primary elements of the Artemis 2 Orion Service Module are now being bolted together.

Lockheed Martin is processing Orion flight hardware for Artemis 2 and Artemis 3 as a part of their Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations (ATLO) in the Armstrong Operations and Checkout (O&C) Building at KSC. As they process the Artemis 2 Orion Crew and Service Modules to be mated next year, the ATLO team also received the next Crew Module (CM) pressure vessel and is also simultaneously beginning build-up of the Crew Module and Crew Module Adapter (CMA) structures for Artemis 3.

SpaceX’s Starship isn’t ready for launch yet, but it’s one step closer after a test on November 12.

SpaceX’s Starship completed another landmark test, using all six of its Raptor engines for a static fire test. Here’s what the latest success means, and what’s next.

Flying to the Moon.

But don’t take it from me — hear out David Anderman, who served as SpaceX’s general counsel during the time it flew its first crewed mission. Now, Anderman is advising the producers of the reality TV show Space Hero, which plans to send one lucky winner to space (see Musk Reads+ #61).

In short, he is working to open up space to more people than ever — and thanks to the Starship, SpaceX could find itself working more like an airline. That’s also going to mean regulations will have to catch up.