no one Orion spacecraft Successfully traveling thousands of miles to the moon and back, it demonstrates the ability to one day transport astronauts to lunar orbit—but before setting off to achieve this cosmic feat, the spacecraft must pass some tests.
this Artemis 1 mission NASA’s Orion spacecraft launched on November 16, 2022 and traveled 1.4 million miles moon It then returns – the furthest spacecraft ever built for humans – before performing a planned splashdown in the Pacific Ocean to complete its 25.5-day mission. Since then, the spacecraft has undergone rigorous testing to ensure its safety and success. Artemis 2 —The first manned mission under NASA’s Artemis program, currently scheduled to launch in April 2026.
The crew module, now known as the Orion Environmental Test Article (ETA), recently completed an 11-month testing campaign at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. According to reports, this series of tests began in January 2024 and simulated the extreme conditions of a launch abort scenario to understand how the spacecraft withstands emergencies. NASA statement.
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“This event will be the most stressful and highest load any system will ever experience,” Robert Overy, Orion ETA project manager at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, said in a statement. “We are working on The safety of the astronaut crew depends on taking a proven vehicle from a successful flight and pushing it to its limits.”
During testing, engineers and technicians from NASA and Lockheed Martin exposed ETA to high noise levels and if abort occurred It also simulated the separation sequence of Orion and its interior astronauts detaching from the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket in an emergency to land safely in the ocean.
NASA shared a slow-motion video of the front hatch toss test completed on November 23. Statement, expands when splashed.
Early testing subjected ETA to simulated electromagnetic effects to ensure the spacecraft’s ground path would protect its equipment and systems from any potential damage if The lights are about to go out as it waits for liftoff on the launch pad.
“This was a successful test campaign,” Ofori said in the statement. “The data matched the predictive model and everything worked as expected after being subjected to nominal and launch abort sound levels. We are still analyzing the data , but preliminary results show the vehicles and facilities are operating as expected.”
The team also completed the docking mechanism abandonment test on November 11, 2024. lunar portala small space station that will orbit the moon and serve as a staging post for missions to the lunar surface via separate landers.
Michael See, ETA vehicle manager for the Orion program, said: “These tests are absolutely critical because we have to complete them all to prove that the spacecraft design is safe and that we are ready to carry astronauts to Artemis for the first time. Si 2. “This is the first time we have been able to test a spacecraft on the ground in such an extreme abort-level acoustic environment. “
this artemis project The goal is to land humans on the moon for the first time time since Apollo The mission successfully accomplished this feat more than 50 years ago. The primary goal of Artemis 2 is to conduct the first crewed test flight of the Orion spacecraft SLS rocket.
The mission, which will last approximately 10 days, will carry four astronauts around the moon and back to Earth. If all goes according to plan, Artemis 3 will aim to land a man on the moon.