NASA puts the Orion spacecraft through testing ahead of its planned trip to the moon. The space agency has simulated the extreme conditions a capsule might experience during a launch abort scenario. When a capsule needs to push itself and its crew away from a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket
NASA recently completed an 11-month crew module testing campaign to ensure Orion is ready for the Artemis 2 mission, which will send a crew of four astronauts around the moon and back. Engineers conducted a series of Orion Environmental Test Article (ETA) tests at NASA's Neil Armstrong Test Center in Sandusky, Ohio, simulating emergency situations during a rocket launch. Orion is designed to separate from the rocket. SLS and splashed safely into the ocean during a launch abort scenario with astronauts on board.
“This event will be the highest stress and highest burden any system will ever see,” Robert Owerri, Orion ETA project manager at NASA's Glenn Research Center, said in the report. statement– “We are bringing in vehicles that have been proven from successful flights. and push it to the limit The safety of our astronaut crew depends on this test campaign.”
During the test, NASA engineers simulated the sound level of an aborted scenario during a rocket launch. Including the electromagnetic effects of lightning. The slow-motion video (above) shows Orion's docking module and parachute cover, as well as five airbags on top of the spacecraft that inflate when splashed and are thrown away. This process is necessary to expose the spacecraft's parachute system and deploy the airbags. It is designed to allow the crew to land safely in the ocean.
It looks like the Orion module passed the test. “It was a successful test campaign,” Overy said. “The data matched the prediction model. And everything proceeded as expected. After the set volume and release sounded,” we continued to analyze the data. But preliminary results show that the vehicles and facilities are performing as intended.”
NASA has been preparing for this test for more than a decade. The space agency built the Reverberant Acoustic Test Facility, the world's most powerful spacecraft acoustic test chamber, in 2011 for this specific test campaign. “These tests are extremely important because we have to do all of the tests to say that the spacecraft design is safe. And we are ready to launch our first crewed flight on the Artemis II spacecraft,” Michael See, ETA's vehicle manager for NASA's Orion program, said in a statement. “This is the first time we have been able to test a ground-based spacecraft in such an extreme acoustic environment.”
In November 2022 Orion launches on 1.4 million mile journey to the moon and back– Mission Artemis 1 was an uncrewed capsule test flight in preparation for the successor to Artemis 2. The mission was considered a success despite Unbeatable performance from Orion heat shields During re-entry, Artemis 2 was originally scheduled to launch in September 2025, but was recently delayed by the program. Pushing Orion crew departure to April 2026– The mission, intended to lead up to Artemis 3, the first human landing on the moon since Apollo, Artemis 3, has also been postponed to mid-2027.
NASA's Artemis program has encountered a few problems. The space agency is rushing to try to reach the lunar surface before China. But there's a problem with the SLS rocket, Orion's heat shield. and other problems Many other things It has disrupted the lunar project, causing multiple delays and cost overruns. Fortunately, Orion is now prepared to eject itself from the rocket in the event of an emergency.