Tag: Orion
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Lockheed Martin assembling EM-2 structures for NASA’s first crewed Orion flight
While final assembly continues on the Orion spacecraft that will make the program’s first solo flight, the major pieces of the next spacecraft are being assembled alongside for the first crewed mission. A crew of four is planned to take the spacecraft on a Lunar flyby during the Exploration Mission-2 (EM-2) test flight. The Crew…
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Lockheed Martin getting NASA’s EM-1 Orion modules ready for final mate
The two modules that will fly NASA’s first solo Orion flight into lunar orbit and back are going through standalone testing in the lead up to becoming a mated spacecraft. The Crew and Service Modules for the Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) flight are being assembled and tested by Orion prime contractor Lockheed Martin in the Operations…
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NASA working to minimize shutdown impact to Springtime Orion abort test
NASA, Lockheed Martin, and the U.S. Air Force have resumed preparations for the Orion Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) test after the five-week long government shutdown disrupted work. The AA-2 test will collect data on the performance of Orion’s Launch Abort System (LAS) by initiating an abort at a high-stress point during ascent. Major pieces of flight…
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Crewed Orion spacecraft passes critical design review
In early December, NASA’s Orion Program completed a “Delta” Critical Design Review (CDR) of the crewed spacecraft configuration that will first fly on Exploration Mission-2 (EM-2). This CDR focused on the changes between the uncrewed spacecraft configuration that will fly on Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) and EM-2. The CDR looked at the progress of designs for…
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“Plan D for Outer Space” — NASA updates EM-2 mission baseline
Coming off this year’s manifest changes to the early missions in NASA’s Exploration campaign, the outline and major parameters for the first crewed Orion flight were formally updated to reflect those big picture updates. Exploration Mission-2 is still a test flight to check out Orion with crew system upgrades and circumnavigate the Moon, but the…
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Following ESM arrival at KSC, Orion kicks off final assembly for EM-1
The 404-day clock to connect, checkout, and test the first integrated Orion spacecraft for its flight to the Moon started in early November with the arrival of the European Service Module (ESM) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. All of the major Orion hardware for Exploration Mission-1 is in the Operations and Checkout…
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Orion test article completes key White Sands firings for ESM shipment
Testing of the Propulsion Qualification Module (PQM) for NASA’s Orion spacecraft resumed at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico in mid-October. The test team at White Sands conducted two hot-fire tests critical to shipping the first European Service Module (ESM) from its Bremen, Germany, production site to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in…
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Fits checks and transport runs ahead of AA-2 test
One of the major milestones for allowing humans to fly on NASA’s Orion spacecraft is currently undergoing test preparations on the Space Coast. The Ascent Abort Test (AA-2) aeroshells have undergone fit checks at its LC-46 launch pad before being transported around the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The test will launch from Launch Complex 46 (LC-46)…
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Orion conducts final parachute drop test in a decade-long program
The Orion Program has concluded its drop test series for the spacecraft’s parachute system, with a successful return to terra firma on Wednesday. The three chutes will allow Orion to conclude its mission with a gentle splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Ensuring the system was safe, including during the loss of a chute, has been…
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NASA updates Lunar Gateway plans
NASA management updated the agency’s human exploration plans for the 2020s to the NASA Advisory Council’s (NAC) Human Exploration and Operations (HEO) Committee last month at the Ames Research Center in California. The focus of the evolving plans for the next decade is launch, assembly, and operations of a human-tended space station in high lunar…