The Orion spacecraft successfully fired its main engine for 5 minutes and 50 seconds on Thursday, sending four astronauts on a free-return trajectory around the Moon. For NASA and the Artemis II crew members, this marked a point of no return for more than a week.<\/p>\n
About three-quarters of the American population has not witnessed humans leaving low-Earth orbit in their lifetimes. The last time this occurred was 1972, with the final Apollo Moon mission.<\/p>\n
The \u201ctranslunar injection\u201d burn of Orion\u2019s main engine occurred about one day after the successful launch of the mission on NASA\u2019s Space Launch System rocket from Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday. This burn was the last major firing of Orion\u2019s main engine and sets the crew on a course to fly around the Moon on Monday, slingshot back toward Earth under lunar gravity, and splash down in the Pacific Ocean on Friday, April 10.<\/p>\n
\u201cThings are going really well right now,\u201d said Lori Glaze, NASA\u2019s senior official over exploration, during a news conference on Thursday evening. \u201cI don\u2019t think we could be more pleased.\u201d<\/p>\n
The decision to leave Earth orbit followed a busy day onboard Orion during which the four-person crew\u2014Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen\u2014pushed the spacecraft\u2019s life support and propulsion systems to ensure the vehicle was ready for a prolonged mission in deep space.<\/p>\n
Orion\u2019s life support functioned very well, said Howard Hu, NASA\u2019s program manager for the Orion spacecraft. This included critical systems, such as the carbon dioxide \u201cscrubbers\u201d that remove the exhaled gas from the cabin\u2019s atmosphere, as well as water systems. There was a minor kerfuffle with Orion\u2019s toilet during the initial checkout when it was supposed to be \u201cwetted\u201d with water to prime the pump. Not enough water was introduced, so the pump was non-responsive. Once more water was added, it began functioning fine.<\/p>\n
,<\/p>\n
The most significant tests involved Orion\u2019s propulsion system, during which Pilot Victor Glover flew the vehicle through a variety of maneuvers primarily using Orion\u2019s 24 reaction control thrusters. During this \u201cproximity ops demonstration\u201d Glover flew to within a few dozen feet of the rocket\u2019s upper stage, and then went through a prescribed series of tests, such as side-to-side maneuvers, up and down, pitch, roll, yaw, and more. Glover offered frequent narration during these maneuvers and, generally, said the vehicle handled better than expected.<\/p>\n
Hu said the Orion team had confidence in the autonomous maneuvering capabilities of the vehicle, but that adding a human into the flight loop always introduces uncertainty. He praised Glover\u2019s flying, saying, \u201cVictor did exactly what he needed to do, and the spacecraft responded.\u201d<\/p>\n
All of the vehicle\u2019s thrusters performed as intended during the multi-hour test, with no failures, Hu confirmed.<\/p>\n
These tests are essential for NASA to have confidence in Orion\u2019s handling for upcoming Artemis missions. NASA now plans to launch Orion on the Artemis III mission sometime next year, and during this flight it is intended to dock with one or both of the lunar landers under development by SpaceX and Blue Origin, respectively, in low-Earth orbit. This will necessitate precise maneuvering. For lunar landing missions, beginning with Artemis IV, Orion will dock with a lunar lander that brings the crew down to the surface of the Moon and then back to Orion, which returns the crew to Earth.<\/p>\n
After its flurry of activities on the first day in flight, Orion\u2019s schedule will settle down a little bit now as the crew speeds outbound toward the Moon. It will make a lunar flyby on Monday, where approximately 20 percent of the far side will be lit as the crew passes nearest to the lunar surface. For now, it\u2019s enough that they are on their way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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