NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman says teams at Kennedy Space Center have cut the schedule for an unspecified stacking process by half, crediting efficiency gains and the rebuilding of NASA's core competencies.
After visiting Kennedy, Isaacman wrote that teams had found efficiencies "by nearly every measure." He did not identify the specific stack, give the old or new duration, or tie the reduction to a particular launch date.
Isaacman said machine shops are operating around the clock at Kennedy and other NASA centers. He framed that work as part of an effort to rebuild NASA's ability to do more engineering and manufacturing itself, while agency specialists work throughout the supply chain.
He also described touring Blue Origin's launch-pad rebuild and said NASA teams are working in the Vehicle Assembly Building, supporting partners at the pad, and contributing to landers, spacesuits and rovers. His confidence in the pace of that work was an assessment, not an independently verified schedule update.
Access is also a question of cost
In a separate reply about astronaut access, Isaacman argued that affordability matters more than the raw number of vehicles certified to carry crews to low Earth orbit. A fleet can offer several technical options, he said, while still limiting demand if each flight remains too expensive.
He pointed to five SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft still under contract for missions over the next few years. He also said Boeing's Starliner spacecraft would be modified to address design issues before certification efforts involving United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rocket, with another uncrewed mission hoped for in the months ahead.
Isaacman added that he had seen Orion crew and service modules for Artemis III, IV and V under development at Kennedy. Orion could technically serve low Earth orbit, he wrote, though it was not designed around that job or its affordability.
The same argument extends to new vehicles. Isaacman said companies should be able to fund additional crew systems privately when they see enough demand, with NASA providing expertise and access to test facilities. If a lower-cost option emerges, he suggested the agency could become a customer.
His caution was about focus: funding every plausible spacecraft could spread NASA too thin, he argued, leaving fewer resources for Artemis, the Roman Space Telescope, experimental aircraft and frequent astronaut flights.
