The crew module, now known as the Orion Environmental Test Article (ETA), returned to NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio, in January 2024 and completed an 11-month test campaign that protected And is essential for success. Artemis IIthe first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis mission.
Engineers and technicians from NASA and Lockheed Martin subjected the test subject to extreme conditions that Orion might encounter in an abort scenario. In the event of an emergency, Orion – and the astronauts inside – will be ejected from the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for a safe landing in the ocean.
“This event will be the highest pressure and the highest load that any system will see,” said Robert Overy, Orion ETA project manager, NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. “We are taking a proven vehicle from a successful flight and pushing it to its limits. The safety of the astronaut crew depends on this test campaign.
Experts conducted tests that simulated the noise levels of an abort during launch, in addition to the electromagnetic effects of a lightning strike. The test mission attached the test article’s docking module and parachute core, as well as the crew module’s uprighting system, which consists of five airbags on top of the spacecraft that inflate upon splashdown.
“It’s been a successful trial campaign,” Overy said. “The data matched the prediction models, and everything performed as expected after being subjected to inappropriate and launch abort sound levels. We are still analyzing the data, but preliminary results indicate that the vehicle and The facility was operated on a custom basis.
Testing Orion at such high sound levels was a major milestone for Artemis. The Reverberant Acoustic Test Facility, the world’s most powerful spacecraft acoustic test chamber, was built in 2011 in anticipation of this particular test campaign.
“These tests are absolutely critical because we have to complete all these tests to ensure that the spacecraft design is safe and we are ready to fly a crew on Artemis II for the first time,” said Michael C., ETA Vehicle Manager, Orion Program. . . “This is the first time we’ve been able to test a spacecraft on Earth in the hypersonic environment of the abort surface.”
Part of NASA Glenn, the Armstrong Test Facility is home to the world’s largest and most powerful space environment simulation chambers capable of testing full-size spacecraft for all the most extreme conditions of launch and spaceflight. The facility not only houses an acoustic test chamber, but also a thermal vacuum chamber and the spacecraft’s vibration system.
Owerri said the facility is unique because there is no other place in the world that can test spacecraft like this. “The Armstrong Test Facility is a one-stop shop for all your testing needs to prepare your spacecraft for the tough and challenging journey to and from space.”
Orion’s round-trip trip to Ohio
This is not the first time Orion has been inside the walls of the Space Environment Complex at the Armstrong Test Facility. The spacecraft underwent critical testing for the mission in 2019, where it was subjected to extreme temperatures and electromagnetic environments before launching aboard Artemis I in 2022.
“I remember when it first arrived, the gravity of its significance really hit home,” said NASA Glenn test manager Joshua Pavlik. “I thought to myself, on a future Artemis mission, the astronauts will be inside Orion on their way to the moon, and they will depend on it for survival.”
Pavlik was a mechanical test engineer when Orion made its first trip to the Sandusky facility. He participated in the planning and coordination of vehicle and trained personnel testing. He managed the vehicle from arrival, through testing, and until it left for NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
“When it came back, I felt like I had a small part in something really big and exciting,” Pavlik said. “It was incredible to see it come back black and stained from the harsh environment of space. Space is not a friendly place, and I was proud to know that if there had been astronauts on that vehicle, they would have survived.
After the Orion test article departs Glenn, it will go to Kennedy for additional testing.
“When Artemis II launches and those astronauts are on board, I’ll know that I did everything I could to make sure the vehicle is ready for them and performing as expected,” Pavlik said. said “That’s why I do what I do.”