. @esa European Service Module #6 for @NASA_Orion has recently departed from #Turin and will soon reach #Bremen to continue its integration. In the meanwhile, in @Thales_Alenia_S, teams are proceeding with the production of the first elements of the @lunargateway.#StayTuned
EUROPEAN SERVICE MODULE-6 STRUCTURE READY FOR INTEGRATION14/09/2023 First steps to the Moon: on 31 August the sixth European Service Module structure moved from its Thales Alenia Space manufacturing hall in Turin, Italy, to arrive at the Airbus integration halls in Bremen, Germany on 8 September. The structure will be used to support all the equipment to keep Artemis astronauts alive and propel them to the lunar Gateway on the Artemis VI mission. The trip took nine days over European roads via Austria in a special convoy.Much like a car chassis, this structure forms the basis for all further assembly of the spacecraft, including 11 km of wiring, 33 engines, four tanks to hold over 8000 litres of fuel, enough water and air to keep four astronauts alive for 20 days in space and the seven-metre ‘x-wing’ solar arrays that provide enough electricity to power two households.The European Service Module structure provides rigidity to the Orion spacecraft and absorbs the vibrations and energy from launch while protecting the hardware from micrometeoroids and space debris during flight.There are now no less than four European Service Modules lined up and in production in the Airbus integration halls. The third service module for Artemis is finalising production and will be shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center later this year. The fourth European Service Module is starting to be built up so it can power four astronauts and the first European Gateway module around the Moon, I-Hab, similarly to its younger sibling the European Service Module-5.The Artemis II astronauts will be visiting the four modules in Bremen this week as part of a general progress meeting between NASA, ESA and suppliers for the Orion spacecraft.When ready for launch, each module will weigh 13500 kg on the launchpad, almost two-thirds of which is propellant (rocket fuel).Written byJULIEN
Transporting European Service Module-6. Credits: Thales Alenia Space
Thales Alenia Space European Service Module team in front of the sixth structure before shipping. Credits: Thales Alenia Space
European Service Module-3 (left) and 5 (right) at the Airbus assembly hall in Bremen, Germany.
Ralf Zimmermann, Head of Space Exploration at Airbus, said: “Today’s delivery of the third ESM marks the beginning of yearly ESM deliveries, underlining the importance and reliability of Europe in this transatlantic partnership.” Airbus Defence and Space is under contract up to ESM-6 and long lead items procurement up to ESM-9.
The agency has currently contracted Airbus Defence and Space to build six service modules for Orion, designated ESM-1 through ESM-6. NASA’s fiscal 2026 budget request, released in May, proposed canceling the lunar Gateway and ending Orion after Artemis III. However, in July 2025, Congress approved funding for Artemis IV, meaning at least one additional module will now be used. The future of the remaining units is still uncertain.
Building of ESM-4 to ESM-6 at Airbus Bremen cleanroomFollowing its successful completion at Airbus Bremen, the fourth European Service Module (ESM-4) has been delivered to NASA to begin preparations for Artemis IV. ESM-4 will be a vital part of the Artemis IV mission which envisages astronauts going to live and work in humanity’s first lunar space station, Gateway, which will enable new opportunities for science and preparation for human missions to Mars.
