Assembly of capsules that will carry astronauts to moon ramps up

Assembly of the Orion capsules that will carry astronauts back to the moon in NASA’s Artemis program is ramping up as initial test flights draw near, prompting spacecraft builder Lockheed Martin to take over a former Space Camp facility to expand and modernize production.

The new Spacecraft Test, Assembly and Resource (STAR) Center, dedicated Thursday, will be used to assemble Orion components that up to now primarily have been built in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at the nearby Kennedy Space Center.