Orion back at Kennedy Space Center so NASA can dissect Artemis I mission

Orion back at Kennedy Space Center so
NASA can dissect Artemis I mission

January 9 2023, by Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

The Orion space capsule from Artemis I has come full circle, having
launched from Kennedy Space Center, traveled 1.4 million miles in
space and around the moon, splashed back down to Earth in the Pacific
Ocean, and now journeyed 2,500 miles over land for its return to
Florida.

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After Orion was recovered at sea on Dec. 11, it made its way to Naval
Base San Diego before heading by truck to arrive at KSC on Dec. 30. It
now sits at NASA's Multi Payload Processing Facility, still sealed tight
from its celestial journey.

The passengers have been waiting patiently to get out of the capsule.
Since they're just mannequins, though, they can wait a little longer.

The most human-looking of the three, named Commander Moonikin
Campos in deference to the late Arturo Campos who helped NASA
bring the Apollo 13 crew safely back to Earth, was joined by two partial-
body mannequins named Zohar and Helga. Their presence will help
NASA determine just what sort of radiation levels and other flight
stresses humans will face during the first crewed flight of Orion on
Artemis II.

Teams will also analyze Orion's heat shield that endured nearly 5,000
degrees Fahrenheit on reentry traveling at 24,500 mph, the fastest any
human-rated spacecraft has ever returned to Earth.

During an end-of-year senior leadership event, NASA Administrator Bill
Nelson said he's most looking forward to "accelerating Artemis II into
next year, but it's going to take a while to get those avionics out of
Artemis I, get them retested and recertified, and in '24, we will do what
we've been looking forward to doing for a long time."

Artemis II plans to send four crew members on an orbital mission to the
moon expected to last about eight days. The mission is still officially on
NASA's docket to fly as early as May 2024, although leadership signaled
that it expected more of a two-year turnaround from when Artemis I
finished its mission, which would mean a launch closer to the end of
next year.

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NASA officials have said the names of the four astronauts is likely to
come this spring. Already announced is that one of the four will be from
Canada.

Already parked at KSC's Operations and Checkout facility is their
ride—the crew capsule for Artemis II as well as the European Service
Module that provides the majority of Orion's power. They await all the
sundry parts of the Space Launch System rocket to arrive this year for an
eventual stacking in the Vehicle Assembly Building.

Boeing, the core stage main contractor, is putting the final touches for
the Artemis II core stage at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New
Orleans.

"We are prepping Core Stage 2 for the integration of the engine section,"
the company said in an emailed statement. "From there, we will attach
the four RS-25 engines and perform final testing before our targeted
delivery of the integrated core stage to NASA's Kennedy Space Center
by mid-year."

The segments for the two solid rocket boosters from Northrop Grumman
await travel by train from Utah and are just awaiting the call from
NASA before shipment.

Combined, the core stage and solid rocket boosters made the SLS for
Artemis I the most powerful rocket to ever successfully achieve orbit
generating 8.8 million pounds of thrust and sending the uncrewed Orion
capsule on its multiweek mission to the moon.

While the Orion crew capsule for Artemis II has been at KSC for some
time, it awaits the transfer of some parts that flew on Artemis I.
including avionic components for guidance navigation and control, radio
communications antennas and transponders as well as the video

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processing unit. Since it's flying with living, breathing passengers this
time, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to sign off on
environmental control and life support systems before flight.

Reuse on the Orion capsules will increase from mission to mission across
the Artemis program in an effort by Orion contractor Lockheed Martin
to reduce costs.

The human factor also requires NASA to enhance the launch site for the
next SLS rocket. NASA's Exploration Ground Systems team based at
KSC already has the mobile launcher used on Artemis I back at the
VAB, and work needs to be done on Launch Pad 39-B to build out an
emergency exit system and install a new liquid hydrogen tank.

"We have a comprehensive plan for Artemis I through V, hardware in
production all around the world, and multibillion-dollar procurements in
work, all enabling us to tell a story of what we are doing to build a long-
term presence at the moon," said NASA's Jim Free, associate
administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission
Directorate.

It won't be until Artemis III scheduled for no earlier than 2025 that
NASA will attempt to return humans, including the first woman, to the
surface of the moon for the first time since the end of the Apollo
program in 1972. NASA then wants to fly at least one Artemis mission a
year.

"Artemis is no longer hardware at the launch pad and being on a path to
the moon is no longer plans on paper. It is here and it is now," Free said.

2023 Orlando Sentinel.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Citation: Orion back at Kennedy Space Center so NASA can dissect Artemis I mission (2023,
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