Artemis III Orion Heat Shield Installation Complete at Kennedy

Technicians completed installation of the heat shield onto the Artemis III Orion crew module inside the high bay of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at Kennedy Space Center on July 6, 2026. The shield consists of 186 blocks of the ablative material Avcoat, each individually inspected; Artemis III is the first Orion mission to fly with the upgraded heat shield incorporating design changes — including improved Avcoat block uniformity and permeability — informed by the unexpected char loss observed on Artemis I in 2022 and confirmed 'significantly better' on Artemis II. With the heat shield installed, teams are now preparing to integrate Orion's crew and service modules ahead of stacking.