Orion into final critical in-flight test as reentry and splashdown arrive

Date:
Sun, 11 Dec 2022 14:23:35 +0000

Description:
The Orion spacecraft is nearing the end of its flight on the Artemis I mission, The post Orion into final critical in-flight test as reentry and splashdown arrive appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .

FULL STORY ======================================================================

The Orion spacecraft is nearing the end of its flight on the Artemis I mission, with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the Baja Coast near Guadalupe Island targeted for 12:39 PM EST (17:39 UTC) on Sunday, Dec. 11.

Final in-flight development test objectives were completed on Saturday, Dec. 10, and the fifth and penultimate return trajectory correction burn was executed to continue aligning the spacecraft for its reentry into Earths atmosphere at the right angle to land at the intended location.



The sixth and final return trajectory maneuver was then completed Sunday morning approximately five hours before splashdown. By this point, communications with Orion had switched from the Deep Space Network to NASAs geostationary orbit-located Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) network
.

To safely enter the Earths atmosphere, Orion must first discard its European Service Module which in addition to providing propulsion, attitude control, life support, power, and several other critical elements for the mission, has also protected Orions all-important heatshield.



This separation event is a major milestone in the mission, as is Orion taking over complete attitude control at that point. See Also Artemis 1 Updates SLS L2 Section NSF Store Click here to Join L2

Thats a big thing that were looking for first when they start service module jettison so we can see the crew module systems takeover. Those are predominantly the propulsion and navigation systems, said Mike Hawes, Vice President and Orion Program Manager, Lockheed Martin, in an interview with NASASpaceflight.

The overall finale to Orions first lunar mission will be a test of alterations made to the way the capsules heatshield is fabricated.

Following lessons learned from the Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1) mission
, for which that Orion capsules heatshield was one large piece, the new heatshield design is produced in segments and then combined to form a
singular unit.

Overall, the heatshield is comprised of approximately 180 Avcoat ablator
tiles between 2.5 and 7.5 cm (one to three inches) thick. These are capable
of protecting the capsule from the 2,760 degrees C (5,000 degrees F) temperatures it will experience as it performs its reentry into the
atmosphere at nearly 40,000 km/h (25,000 mph). Getting this data is critical to ensure all the newly designed @NASA_Orion systems will provide the protection crew members need ahead of our first crewed mission on #Artemis
II. (6/6)

Jim Free (@JimFree) December 10, 2022



Another ablator material is also used in other locations. Called 3DMAT, the 3-Dimensional Multifunctional Ablative Thermal Protection System is made of woven quartz in resin and is used to strengthen various connection points along the spacecraft, according to NASA.

After the skip profile (where Orion will dip into the atmosphere, arc back
up, and then descend back down) and plasma stages of reentry, the parachute and recovery systems will then be put to the test.

Then we jettison the forward bay cover that protects all of our parachutes during the mission, said Hawes of Lockheed Martin. Then they (the recovery team) will track the deployment of the multiple sets of parachutes.

That whole interaction with the spacecraft is still really important for us
to capture. Weve done lots and lots of drop tests with these parachutes, but we havent done drop tests with chutes coming back from the Moon.



After the splashdown, Orion will be met by recovery personnel from the U.S. Department of Defense, including Navy amphibious specialists and engineers
and technicians from the Kennedy Space Center, the Johnson Space Center, and Lockheed Martin.

Once aboard the recovery ship, Orion will be brought back to the Port of San Diego for final preparations for a quick shipment back to the Kennedy Space Center for post-flight deserving to reduce the hazards from the capsules onboard, stored propellants leftover from the mission.

The capsules journey after return to Kennedy

After arriving back at the Kennedy Space Center and going through initial propellant deserving, work will begin immediately toward removing the essential items from the Artemis I capsule that are planned for reuse on the Artemis II Orion spacecraft .

I am really focused on getting the ship out of the water and getting back on the road because of the avionics reuse between Artemis I and Artemis II, related Hawes. So we will be wanting to get that process going [because] we start our post-flight formal reuse reviews with the NASA team just before Christmas. The final, critical test sequence of Artemis I. (Credit: ESA)

Teams are currently targeting a 60-day timeframe from splashdown to when the avionics boxes will be ready for installation into Artemis IIs Orion. The
team in Florida will have those right timetables given the specifics of the components, but thats when our timetable says we want to be ready for them to be able to be installed.

Some of those avionics will only need to be tested against benchmarks to ensure they are still functioning to specifications. Others, however, will need more extensive testing before they are certified for reuse and ready for installation.

Fortunately, those just go across the state to Honeywell, noted Hawes. And so weve worked with the Honeywell team to make sure that we have that process
all lined out so that we get from Cocoa Beach over to Tampa/St. Pete. And
then that is factored into the overall timeline.

In addition to the avionics, the capsule itself still have more tests to go before its career ends. 372,000 km (234,000 miles) from home. Captured on
Dec. 7, 2022, Orions view of a crescent Earth. (Credit: NASA/ESA)

Theres a lot of inspection from a reuse standpoint that were going to do,
said Hawes. Its next use is slated for what we call the environmental test article, or ETA. And so theres a lot of work then [to] reconfigure for a small series of tests prior to the Artemis II flight.

Those tests include vibration, acoustic, shock, thermal, and subsystem examinations.

(Lead image: Orions onboard camera views of the Moon and Earth as the spacecraft performed its deorbit burn to return to Earth on Dec. 5, 2022. Credit: NASA)

The post Orion into final critical in-flight test as reentry and splashdown arrive appeared first on NASASpaceFlight.com .



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Link to news story:
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2022/12/artemis-i-eom/


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