Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy, left, speaks with Orion Assembly, Test, and Launch Operations Director at Lockheed Martin, Nathan Varn, during a tour of Lockheed Martin’s Orion Facility, Wednesday, July 30, 2025, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Nathan Varn, Program Director Orion Productions for Lockheed Martin, discusses the Orion crew spacecraft for Artemis III during a tour for Artemis II crew members and their families of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Friday, March 15, 2024. Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman and Artemis II Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen toured the facility with their families and viewed the Orion spacecraft for upcoming Artemis missions.

Nathan Varn, Program Director Orion Productions for Lockheed Martin, left, and Scott Wilson, NASA’s Division Chief, Orion Production Operations Office, right, lead a tour of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, for Japanese Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) Masahito Moriyama on Friday, April 12, 2024. Moriyama’s visit included viewing the Orion crew modules for upcoming Artemis missions, which will land the first woman, first person of color, and NASA’s first international partner astronaut on the Moon.

NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik, center, and astronaut candidate Kayla Barron tour the Operations and Checkout Building high bay at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 12, 2019. They viewed the European Service Module for Orion’s Exploration Mission-1, and the pressure vessel for Exploration Mission-2. Accompanying them, from left, are Glenn Chin, deputy manager, NASA Orion Production Operations; Nathan Varn, senior manager, Assembly, Test and Launch Operations with Lockheed Martin; and Carlos Garcia, NASA Orion Production Operations Launch Abort System lead. At far right is Keith Manning, representing the Flight Test Integration Team from Johnson Space Center in Houston.

NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik, center, and astronaut candidate Kayla Barron, far right, tour the Operations and Checkout Building high bay at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 12, 2019. They viewed all of the hardware in the high bay that is being processed for Exploration Mission-1 and Exploration Mission-2. Accompanying them are Jules Schneider, director, Assembly, Test and Launch Operations (ATLO) with Lockheed Martin; Nathan Varn, senior manager, ATLO with Lockheed Martin; and Glenn Chin, deputy manager, NASA Orion Production Operations.

Nathan Varn, Program Director Orion Productions for Lockheed Martin, left, and Scott Wilson, NASA’s Division Chief, Orion Production Operations Office, lead a tour for Artemis II crew members and their families of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Friday, March 15, 2024. Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman and Artemis II Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen toured the facility with their families and viewed the Orion crew modules, including the spacecraft that will take them, along with Artemis II Pilot Victor Glover and Artemis II Mission Specialist Christina Hammock Koch, around the Moon and back during the Artemis II mission.

Nathan Varn, Program Director Orion Productions for Lockheed Martin, left, and Scott Wilson, NASA’s Division Chief, Orion Production Operations Office, right, lead a tour of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, for Japanese Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) Masahito Moriyama on Friday, April 12, 2024. Moriyama’s visit included viewing the Orion crew modules for upcoming Artemis missions, which will land the first woman, first person of color, and NASA’s first international partner astronaut on the Moon.

Kathy Lueders, third from left, associate administrator of the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, tours the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 14, 2021. In the background is the Orion crew module for the Artemis II mission. From left are NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik; Tony Antonelli, Lockheed Martin Orion Program director and Artemis II Mission director; Howard Hu, Orion deputy program manager; Cathy Koerner, Orion Program manager; Scott Wilson, Orion Production Operations manager; Jules Schneider, Lockheed Martin director of Orion Assembly, Test and Launch Operations at Kennedy; and Nathan Varn, Lockheed Martin Production Control director. The group also viewed the Orion spacecraft for Artemis I as it was lowered onto a transporter for the move to the Multi-Payload Processing Facility to begin ground processing by the Exploration Ground Systems and Jacobs teams.

Nathan Varn, far left, Program Director Orion Productions for Lockheed Martin, and Scott Wilson, far right, NASA’s Division Chief, Orion Production Operations Office, lead a tour for Artemis II crew members and their families of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Friday, March 15, 2024. Artemis II Commander Reid Wiseman and Artemis II Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen toured the facility with their families and viewed the Orion crew modules, including the spacecraft that will take them, along with Artemis II Pilot Victor Glover and Artemis II Mission Specialist Christina Hammock Koch, around the Moon and back during the Artemis II mission.

Orion is revealed for one of the final times on Jan. 14, as it is moved by crane to its transport pallet inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, along its path to the pad ahead of the Artemis I launch. Standing near Orion, from left, are Nathan Varn, Lockheed Martin Production Control director; Jules Schneider, Lockheed Martin Director of Orion Assembly, Test and Launch at Kennedy; Kelly DeFazio, Lockheed Martin Orion Program director for production operations; Tony Antonelli, Lockheed Martin Orion Program director and Artemis II mission director; Cathy Koerner, Orion Program manager; Kathy Lueders, associate administrator of the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate; NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik; Howard Hu Orion Program deputy manager; and Scott Wilson, Orion Production Office manager. Teams across the globe have worked tirelessly to assemble the spacecraft, which will receive a protective covering prior to departing for the Multi-Payload Processing Facility to begin ground processing by the Exploration Ground Systems and Jacobs teams.

Orion is revealed for one of the final times on Jan. 14, as it is readied atop its transport pallet from the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, along its path to the pad ahead of the Artemis I launch. Inside the high bay, from left, are Nathan Varn, Lockheed Martin Production Control director; Jules Schneider, Lockheed Martin director of Orion Assembly, Test and Launch Operations at Kennedy; Kelly DeFazio, Lockheed Martin Orion Program director for production operations; Tony Antonelli, Lockheed Martin Orion Program director and Artemis II Mission director; Cathy Koerner, Orion Program manager; Kathy Lueders, associate administrator of the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate; astronaut Randy Bresnik; and Howard Hu, Orion deputy program manager. Teams across the globe have worked tirelessly to assemble the spacecraft, which will receive a protective covering prior to departing for the Multi-Payload Processing Facility to begin ground processing by the Exploration Ground Systems and Jacobs teams.