EM-2/Artemis 2 Orion Construction and Processing Updates

[Chris Bergin]

A thread for the processing of EM-2 Orion ahead of the 2022 mission.

Orion Forum Section:
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?board=38.0

Orion News Articles:
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/orion/

L2 Orion:
https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?board=29.0

All three of those links go back 2006, back in the CEV days. Been a long road of this little spacecraft!

Please use the Orion forum section for discussion etc. Let's try and keep this thread just for updates on the construction and processing.

----

And the reason for starting this thread:

Piecing together NASA's crewed Deep Space spacecraft:
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/09/piecing-together-nasas-crew-spacecraft/ - by Philip Sloss.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

First weld is complete on the Orion crew module that will carry astronauts beyond the moon.

https://twitter.com/nasa_orion/status/951250213750099969

[FutureSpaceTourist]

.@LockheedMartin technicians complete the first cone weld on the Orion crew module which will carry @NASA_Astronauts beyond the moon.

https://twitter.com/nasa_orion/status/959212964120154114

[Rocket Science]

Thank you for the great update article Philip! Always good when one gets to see where "the people money" is go towards...

[hektor]

In the NASA FY19 presentation EM-2 would launch in 2023 on SLS/EUS together with the LOP-G Habitat.

This means EM-2 would no longer be Lunar flyby but Lunar orbital.

[Chris Bergin]

Constructing the crewed Orion – EM-2 spacecraft deep into welding operations - https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/02/constructing-the-crewed-orion-em-2-welds/

- By Philip Sloss

[envy887]

In the NASA FY19 presentation EM-2 would launch in 2023 on SLS/EUS together with the LOP-G Habitat.

This means EM-2 would no longer be Lunar flyby but Lunar orbital.

Does that mean the PPE has to go first, on commercial?

Is there a RFI or RFP for the hab module?

[FutureSpaceTourist]

Some crew module welding pictures released by NASA

[Chris Bergin]

ARTICLE: Lockheed Martin readies Orion EM-2 Pressure Vessel for trip to KSC -

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/08/lockheed-martin-orion-em-2-pressure-vessel-ksc/

- By Philip Sloss

[jacqmans]

The Orion crew module pressure vessel for Exploration Mission-2 arrives at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 24, 2018. The pressure vessel was transported in its Crew Module Transportation Fixture by super-wide transport truck from Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans. The pressure vessel is Orion's primary structure that holds the pressurized atmosphere astronauts will breathe and work in while in the vacuum of deep space. It will be moved into the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay, where it will be secured on a precision alignment tool to begin preparing it for flight.

Photo credit: NASA/Christopher Swanson

[jacqmans]

News Release Issued: Aug 28, 2018 (2:07pm EDT)

Lockheed Martin Begins Final Assembly on NASA's Orion Spaceship That Will Take Astronauts Further Than Ever Before

Core of World's Only Exploration-Class Spaceship Delivered to Cape Canaveral

DENVER, Aug. 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Technicians have completed construction on the spacecraft capsule structure that will return astronauts to the Moon, and have successfully shipped the capsule to Florida for final assembly into a full spacecraft. The capsule structure, or pressure vessel, for NASA's Orion Exploration Mission-2 (EM-2) spacecraft was welded together over the last seven months by Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) technicians and engineers at the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans.

Orion is the world's only exploration-class spaceship, and the EM-2 mission will be its first flight with astronauts on board, taking them farther into the solar system than ever before.

"It's great to see the EM-2 capsule arrive just as we are completing the final assembly of the EM-1 crew module," said Mike Hawes, Lockheed Martin vice president and program manager for Orion. "We've learned a lot building the previous pressure vessels and spacecraft and the EM-2 spacecraft will be the most capable, cost-effective and efficient one we've built."

Orion's pressure vessel is made from seven large, machined aluminum alloy pieces that are welded together to produce a strong, light-weight, air-tight capsule. It was designed specifically to withstand the harsh and demanding environment of deep space travel while keeping the crew safe and productive.

"We're all taking extra care with this build and assembly, knowing that this spaceship is going to take astronauts back to the Moon for the first time in four decades," said Matt Wallo, senior manager of Lockheed Martin Orion Production at Michoud. "It's amazing to think that, one day soon, the crew will watch the sun rise over the lunar horizon through the windows of this pressure vessel. We're all humbled and proud to be doing our part for the future of exploration."

The capsule was shipped over the road from New Orleans to the Kennedy Space Center, arriving on Friday, Aug. 24. Now in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building, Lockheed Martin technicians will immediately start assembly and integration on the EM-2 crew module.

[jacqmans]

The Orion crew module pressure vessel for Exploration Mission-2 is in a work stand called the bird cage inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Sept. 11, 2018. The pressure vessel was transported in its Crew Module Transportation Fixture by super-wide transport truck from Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans. The pressure vessel is Orion's primary structure that holds the pressurized atmosphere astronauts will breathe and work in while in the vacuum of deep space.

Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux

[jbenton]

I know that this is an Update thread and not a Discussion thread, but I have a quick question:

EM-2 is NET 2022; the current year is 2018. That is a lead time of 4 years. Why is there such a long lead time for these components?

[SciNews]

From ESA

European Service Module-2 wiring at the Airbus integration hall in Bremen, Germany, September 2018.
The structure is complete and over 11 km of cables are being meticulously placed in preparation for the computers and equipment that will keep astronauts alive and well for the second Orion mission called Exploration Mission-2.
Up to four astronauts will fly Orion to 70 000 km beyond the Moon before completing a lunar flyby and returning to Earth. The mission can take a minimum of 8 days and will collect valuable flight test data.

higher resolution image http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2018/09/Orion_European_Service_Module-2_wiring

[ethan829]

A couple more pictures of the ESM from flickr:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/europeanspaceagency/43867662265/in/dateposted/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/europeanspaceagency/43867661825/in/dateposted/

[woog]

The European Service Module-2 (ESM-2) is somewhat like the portal it appears to be in this image. By providing power and propulsion for the Orion spacecraft, it will transport humans back to the Moon, roughly fifty years after humankind first landed on its surface.

In assembly at Airbus in Bremen, ESM-2 is the engine of the Orion spacecraft that will fly its second mission and first with a crew. The mission is called Artemis 2 and is set for launch in 2022.

Every wire seen in this structure must be correctly connected and configured to ensure the systems providing power, propulsion, oxygen and heat get the spacecraft and its crew of four safely around the Moon and back.

Partially visible at the bottom of the Service Module are the auxiliary thrusters that have recently been installed. These along with two other types of engines will get Orion to its destination.

The main engine is a repurposed Space Shuttle Orbital Maneuvering System engine that has flown in space before. The eight auxiliary thrusters come in as backup to this main engine and to provide orbit corrections.

Lastly, 24 smaller engines grouped into six pods provide attitude control. In fixed positions, they can be fired individually as needed to move the spacecraft in different directions and rotate it into any position.

ESM-2 is expected to be completed and delivered to NASA in 2020.

The first European Service Module arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida in October 2018. It has since been mated with the Crew Module Adapter and Crew Module. The trio are undergoing thermal and balance testing at NASA’s Plum Brook Facility in Ohio this summer.

The recent successful Launch Abort Test that proved the spacecraft’s system can pull astronauts to safety in the event of a launch anomaly has marked another major milestone for Orion’s first exploratory mission.

Artemis 1 will qualify the spacecraft’s performance. Orion will make a flyby of the Moon, using lunar gravity to gain speed and propel itself 70 000 km beyond the Moon, almost half a million km from Earth – farther than any human has ever travelled.

On its return journey, Orion will do another flyby of the Moon before heading back to Earth.

The total trip will take around 20 days, ending with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean without the European Service Module – it separates and burns up harmlessly in the atmosphere.

Artemis 2 will follow a similar flight path with a crew of four astronauts.

The European Service Module is built by Airbus, with smaller components coming from suppliers all over Europe, making the mission a truly international endeavour.

Orion is the first collaboration between ESA and NASA on a spacecraft that will take humans farther into space.

In addition to returning humans to the moon, Orion will be instrumental to building the Gateway, a staging post to be located in lunar orbit that will allow humans to go deeper into space.

ESA is committed to working with partners globally to achieve its exciting vision of human and robotic exploration targeting the Moon and Mars.

Credits: Airbus

https://www.flickr.com/photos/europeanspaceagency/48242593116/

[FutureSpaceTourist]

NASA Kennedy
KSC-20190917-PH_FWM01_0067

The Orion pressure vessel for NASA’s Artemis ll mission is in view in a processing stand inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay on Sept. 17, 2019. Orion is being prepared for the first crewed test flight atop the agency’s Space Launch System rocket. Artemis ll will lift off from Launch Complex 39B. The mission will confirm all of the spacecraft’s systems operate as designed in the actual environment of deep space with astronauts aboard. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux

https://flic.kr/p/2hBQuCS

[ncb1397]

latest Artemis II Orion schedule from NAC meeting presentation.

[jacqmans]

The heat shield for Orion’s Artemis II mission is in view secured on a work stand in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 9, 2020. Work continues to prepare the heat shield for flight, including applying Avcoat, an ablative material that will provide thermal protection. The heat shield, measuring roughly 16 feet in diameter, will protect astronauts upon re-entry on the second mission of Artemis. Artemis II, the first crewed mission in the series of missions to the Moon and on to Mars, will confirm all of the Orion spacecraft’s systems operate as designed in the actual environment of deep space with astronauts aboard.

Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

[zubenelgenubi]

From March 20, 2020, RELEASE 20-031, NASA Leadership Assessing Mission Impacts of Coronavirus

Assembly and processing work is continuing on the Artemis II Orion spacecraft at Kennedy.