WASHINGTON — An ongoing evaluate of knowledge from the Artemis 1 mission has turned up no points that will delay the crewed Artemis 2 mission scheduled for launch late subsequent yr.
In a March 7 briefing, NASA managers mentioned that evaluation of knowledge from the House Launch System, Orion spacecraft and floor techniques had discovered solely minor points that may be addressed forward of Artemis 2.
The most important concern, and one not beforehand disclosed, was with the warmth protect on the Orion crew capsule. Howard Hu, Orion program supervisor at NASA, mentioned that materials on the warmth protect had ablated in another way than what engineers anticipated from floor assessments and pc fashions.
“We had extra liberation of the charred materials throughout reentry than we had anticipated,” he mentioned. Engineers are simply starting detailed evaluation of the warmth protect to find out why it behaved in another way than anticipated.
Nonetheless, he mentioned the distinction in efficiency was not a security concern. “We’ve a big quantity of margin left over” within the type of untouched or “virgin” Avcoat, the ablative materials used on the warmth protect. “I don’t imagine we reached any limits. From a margin perspective, actually it took extra of the Avcoat off than we had anticipated.”
Hu mentioned work is continuous on a difficulty with the facility system on Orion’s service module referred to as a latching present limiter, which opened with out being commanded two dozen instances through the Artemis 1. Controller closed the limiters with none adversarial impression on the spacecraft’s energy system.
The European House Company and Airbus, the prime contractor for the service module, are planning a take a look at on the finish of the month to raised perceive what prompted the uncommanded occasions, comparable to electromagnetic interference. If these assessments don’t discover a root trigger, he mentioned controllers on the bottom, or astronauts inside Orion, can proceed to manually shut the limiters on future missions. A software program replace may additionally handle the issue.
Floor techniques engineers are fixing injury to the cell launcher from the SLS launch. “There are some things that did obtain extra injury than we anticipated,” mentioned Shawn Quinn, who succeeded Mike Bolger as supervisor of the Exploration Floor Programs program after the Artemis 1 mission.
That injury contains pneumatic traces corroded by residue from the stable rocket boosters; he mentioned an issue with a gaseous nitrogen system delayed the provision of water meant to scrub that residue away. The elevators within the cell launcher tower have been additionally knocked out of fee, however one is now again in service.
Some work after the Dec. 11 splashdown, notably the elimination of avionics items from the Artemis 1 Orion capsule to be refurbished and reinstalled on the Artemis 2 Orion, passed off forward of schedule. That’s unlikely to vary the deliberate launch of Artemis 2, at the moment set for late November 2024.
“I don’t assume it helps us transfer it in,” Jim Free, NASA affiliate administrator for exploration techniques improvement, mentioned of the Artemis 2 schedule. “We will definitely search for methods we will construct margin in our schedule. That’s how we have a look at it.”
That schedule anticipates delivery the SLS core stage from the Michoud Meeting Facility in New Orleans to the Kennedy House Middle in June or July, mentioned John Honeycutt, NASA SLS program supervisor, a date “nicely upfront” of when it’s wanted. Different SLS parts are both at KSC or able to be shipped when wanted.
Hu mentioned that he anticipates mating the Orion crew module with the service module in late June. By the primary quarter of 2024 staff will begin stacking the mixed SLS/Orion car, Quinn mentioned, to assist a late 2024 launch.
Free mentioned NASA nonetheless expects to have the following mission, Artemis 3, launch a few yr after Artemis 2, however famous it should rely on the progress of different parts, specifically SpaceX’s Starship lunar lander and new spacesuits below improvement by Axiom House. “Our plan has all the time been 12 months, however there are important developments that need to happen,” he mentioned. “That’s simply the character of making an attempt to land folks on the moon.”
