Artemis 1 demo missions with pacific splash 11, but the task of evaluating the return capsule, including its heat shield and interior payload, has only just begun.
Orion survived the historic 1.4 million-mile trip to the moon and back, but it now faces an entirely different test: a scrutiny by NASA engineers. The unmanned pod crashed into the Pacific Ocean in mid-December and was recovered and transported to Naval Station San Diego. On Dec. 30, a truck delivered the capsule to Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where it is now being decommissioned at NASA’s Multi-Payload Handling Facility.
nasa photo Inside the inspection chamber, several engineers climbed under the spacecraft to take a closer look at its heat shield, pictured on Jan. 2. This was done in preparation for the complete dismantling of the heat shield and its transport to a different facility for detailed inspection, NASA explains statement.
The heat shield bears the brunt because it protects the capsule from 5,000 degrees high temperature During reentry. Orion made history by becoming the fastest human spacecraft to return from the moon, hitting the atmosphere at 24,600 miles per hour (39,590 kilometers per hour). The performance and integrity of the heat shield is critical to the Orion system and the overall Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the lunar surface later this decade. The Artemis 1 demonstration mission tested the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft, as NASA now sets its sights on Artemis 2 — a repeat of Artemis 1 but with astronauts on board.
related: 7 things we learned from NASA’s wildly successful Artemis 1 mission
NASA technicians also removed the external avionics box and are inspecting the capsule’s windows and the thermally protective rear shell panel that covers the spacecraft. Five airbags are now deflated and can still be seen on top of the capsule.Those airbags let Orion floating on the right side of the sternIt’s a splash.
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An important next step is to take an air sample from inside the capsule. Orion will then be installed into a service desk, which technicians can enter to get inside.After opening the hatch for the first time, technicians will remove the internal avionics box and internal payload, including three mannequins– Campos, Helga and Zohar – they came together. NASA plans to repurpose the avionics box for the Artemis 2 mission.
Orion’s decommissioning and inspection will take months to complete, with additional steps to follow including removal of hazards and acoustic vibration testing at NASA’s Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility in Glenn, Ohio. Orion Will Finally Get Its Transcript, Allowing NASA To Make Any Necessary Changes To Prepare Crewed Spacecraft Artemis 2 Questwhich will not happen earlier than the end of 2024.
more: Check out the best images from the thrilling Artemis 1 Splashdown