Artemis II crew gets first glimpse of Orion spacecraft at NASA

The crew for NASA’s Artemis II mission, which includes three Americans and one Canadian, recently had their first glimpse of the Orion spacecraft that will transport them around the Moon and back to Earth. The spacecraft is currently undergoing final tests at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.

Christina Koch, a specialist on the Artemis II mission, expressed her excitement and awe upon seeing the spacecraft for the first time. The crew will be making several more trips to the Kennedy Space Center in preparation for their mission, which will be the first manned flight to the vicinity of the Moon since the last Apollo mission in 1972.

Reid Wiseman, the commander of Artemis II, was impressed by the quality and progress of the spacecraft. He noted that the hardware is nearly ready, but there is still work to be done.

The Orion crew module, with a diameter of 16.5 feet (5 meters), is situated at the Neil Armstrong Operations & Checkout Building at Kennedy. It is surrounded by a stack of powerful speakers which will soon start blasting sounds that mimic the acoustic energy from a rocket launch. This test is designed to ensure the spacecraft can withstand the intense sound from the engines and boosters of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket.

However, the preparations for the mission are running behind schedule, according to Jim Free, who leads the NASA division responsible for developing hardware for the Artemis lunar program. This could potentially push the Artemis II launch date, initially targeted for late November 2024, into 2025.

NASA recently conducted a review of the unpiloted Artemis I lunar mission last year, which was the first flight of the enormous SLS rocket and the first voyage of an Orion spacecraft to the distance of the Moon. While the mission was deemed a success, there were a few lessons learned that are still under review.

One issue involved an electrical system on the Orion service module, and another related to release and retention bolts on the spacecraft. The most significant unresolved issue was a finding from post-flight inspections of the Orion heat shield. Ground teams found charred material that had burned off from the heat shield in a different way than predicted by computer models.

Debbie Korth, NASA’s deputy Orion program manager, said that engineers are continuing the investigation into the heat shield’s performance. She added that it’s unlikely any hardware changes will be made to the heat shield already installed on the Orion spacecraft for Artemis II.

Wiseman, the Artemis II commander, reassured that the crew will not launch until they are confident that the vehicle is ready. He expressed his faith in the team’s ability to find the right solution to the heat shield issue.

Meanwhile, the Orion service module is largely complete for Artemis II. Once the modules are mated, the entire Orion spacecraft will go through a series of integrated pressure tests. The handover of the Orion spacecraft from the production team to the operations team at Kennedy is planned for next April.

The core stage of the SLS Moon rocket, built by Boeing, is set to arrive at Kennedy from its factory in New Orleans in November. This would allow for the start of stacking of the rocket inside the assembly building in February.

The Artemis II mission represents a significant milestone in space exploration, marking the return of humans to the vicinity of the Moon after a gap of over five decades. The mission’s success will pave the way for future lunar missions and deepen our understanding of the Moon and beyond.