Tag: Orion

NASA Determines Cause for Orion Heat Shield Charring

Aviation Week reports, “NASA says it has determined why its Orion spacecraft returned from its 25-day Artemis I flight test around the Moon with unexpected charring in its heat shield. Agency officials, however, declined to release its findings, pending ongoing internal discussions about next steps.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

NASA Moves Orion to Vehicle Assembly Building

Spaceflight Now reports that NASA teams at the Kennedy Space Center “moved the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis 1 moon mission into the Vehicle Assembly Building Tuesday for stacking on top of the Space Launch System.” The Orion spacecraft was rolled “into the iconic assembly building around 5 a.m. EDT (0900 GMT) Tuesday.”
Full Story (Spaceflight Now)

NASA Might Adjust Artemis III to Have Starship and Orion Dock in Low-Earth Orbit

Ars Technica reports that NASA “is privately considering modifications to its Artemis plan to land astronauts on the surface of the Moon later this decade. Multiple sources have confirmed that NASA is studying alternatives to the planned Artemis III landing of two astronauts on the Moon, nominally scheduled for September 2026, due to concerns about hardware readiness and mission complexity.”
Full Story (Ars Technica)

NASA Showcases Crew Modules for Artemis II, III, and IV

Gizmodo reports that the crew modules for NASA’s Artemis II, III, and IV missions “are currently stationed next to one another at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, with the three spacecraft undergoing different stages of production for their upcoming launch dates.” NASA recently “shared a group photo of its Orion crew capsules inside the high bay of the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building, revealing the spacecraft trio coming together ahead of humanity’s return to the Moon.” The Artemis II spacecraft is “designed to carry astronauts on a journey to the Moon and back in late 2024.” NASA technicians recently “installed the heat shield on the Artemis II Orion capsule, which is designed to protect the crew and the spacecraft during its reentry through Earth’s atmosphere.”
Full Story (Gizmodo)

Orion Begins Final Leg of Artemis I Mission

CNN reports on its website that the Artemis I mission “is now in the final stretch of its historic journey.” The Orion spacecraft “made another pass by the surface of the moon Monday morning, capturing views of notable lunar sites, including a couple Apollo landing sites. The spacecraft then passed just 80 miles (128.7 kilometers) above the lunar surface, its second close flyby of the moon.” Orion then “fired up its main engine for about three and a half minutes – the longest burn conducted on its trip thus far. The engine burn set the capsule on its final path home, kicking off the last leg of its 25-and-a-half-day trip.”
Full Story (CNN)

Artemis I Orion to Depart Lunar Orbit

Aviation Week reports that well beyond “the halfway point of the 25-1/2 day Artemis I test flight, NASA’s Orion crew capsule is prepared to depart its Distant Retrograde Orbit (DRO) around the Moon to return home for a Dec. 11 splashdown off the coast of San Diego, California.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)

NASA’s Orion to Set Distance Record

Gizmodo reports that NASA’s Artemis 1 mission “continues to go well, with Orion entering into its target orbit around the Moon on Friday.” At 4:48 p.m. ET Monday, on what is flight day 13 of the mission, “Orion will reach its maximum distance from Earth, at which point it will be approximately 268,554 miles (432,194 kilometers) from home.” When Orion reaches “this maximum distance point later today, it’ll set a new standard for the farthest that any crew-rated vehicle has traveled from Earth – a standard that likely won’t be bested for years to come.” The spacecraft “had already broken the previous record, set during the Apollo missions, over the weekend, but its journey wasn’t over yet.”
Full Story (Gizmodo)
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