Artemis II Service Module in O&C Highbay Clean RoomThe European-built Service Module (ESM) for NASA’s Artemis II mission is on a work stand inside a clean room inside the high bay of the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 12, 2022. Teams from NASA, Lockheed Martin, the European Space Agency and Airbus will prepare the service module to be integrated with the Orion crew module adapter and crew module, already housed in the facility. The powerhouse that will fuel and propel Orion in space, the ESM for Artemis II will be the first Artemis mission flying crew aboard Orion.
Progress for #Artemis II is taking place at @NASAKennedy! Engineers are outfitting the @NASA_Orion crew and services modules for the first @NASAArtemis mission that will carry astronauts around the Moon.
Isn't this the heat shield of Artemis III which has just been delivered to KSC ?
Inside the Multi-Payload Processing Facility at @NASAKennedy, technicians start to remove components from the #Artemis I spacecraft, including avionics boxes and a crew seat that will be inspected and reused on Artemis II.
Pushing Orion's first crew to the Moon! Technicians at @NASAKennedy install the engine nozzle on the service module that will propel Orion on #Artemis II.
It's about to get loud for this service module!Before powering astronauts' trip around the Moon on the #Artemis II mission, engineers test Orion’s service module at @NASAKennedy by blasting it with acoustic levels up to 140 decibels – louder than a rock concert 🤘
The heat shield ensuring the safe return of the #Artemis II crew is installed on Orion!Up next, the spacecraft will be outfitted with some of its external panels ahead of acoustic testing later this summer.Read more:
Orion Heat Shield Installed for NASA’s Artemis II MissionOn June 25, 2023, teams completed installation of the heat shield for the Artemis II Orion spacecraft inside the high bay of the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.The 16.5-foot-wide heat shield is one of the most important systems on the Orion spacecraft ensuring a safe return of the astronauts on board. As the spacecraft returns to Earth following its mission around the Moon, it will be traveling at speeds of about 25,000 mph and experience outside temperatures of nearly 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Inside the spacecraft, however, astronauts will experience a much more comfortable temperature in the mid-70s thanks to Orion’s thermal protection system.Up next, the spacecraft will be outfitted with some of its external panels ahead of acoustic testing later this summer. These tests will validate the crew module can withstand the vibrations it will experience throughout the Artemis II mission, during launch, flight, and landing.Once acoustic testing is complete, technicians will attach the crew module to Orion’s service module, marking a major milestone for the Artemis II mission, the first mission with astronauts under Artemis that will test and check out all of Orion’s systems needed for future crewed missions.
Left to right: Artemis III, Artemis IV, and Artemis II Orion Crew Modules.@LMSpace is assembling the fourth thru sixth Orion at the Kennedy Space Center, the first three being EFT-1, STA, and Artemis I.AR2: Heatshield installAR3: Prop & ECLSS welding AR4: Primary Structure
Orion Crew Module for Artemis II
Artemis II Orion Crew Module closeups
NASA also held an Artemis update media briefing at the KSC Press Site later in the day on Aug. 8, the first since the late November 2024 target date for launch was announced in early March. NASA Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate Associate Administrator Jim Free said in the briefing that the target date still remains unchanged, although work was “a number of weeks” behind.
