EM-4/Artemis 4 Orion Service Module updates

[hektor]

Frame for Artemis IV

[hektor]

https://twitter.com/Thales_Alenia_S/status/1531608155628703750?s=20

[jacqmans]

The fourth European Service Module structure to power astronauts on NASA's Orion spacecraft to the Moon completed at Thales Alenia Space site in Turin, Italy.

Credits: Thales Alenia Space

[jacqmans]

The fourth European Service Module structure to power astronauts on NASA's Orion spacecraft to the Moon completed at Thales Alenia Space site in Turin, Italy.

Credits: Thales Alenia Space

[jacqmans]

The fourth European Service Module structure to power astronauts on NASA's Orion spacecraft to the Moon completed at Thales Alenia Space site in Turin, Italy.

Credits: Thales Alenia Space

[Rik ISS-fan]

Europe's contribution to the ISS. 

[hektor]

Not sure what you mean there, but if you mean ISS bartering this is not correct. ESM-4 is not part of the ISS bartering scheme.

[FutureSpaceTourist]

ESM 4 shots released by ESA

[Vahe231991]

Since SpaceX's Starship Human Landing System will be used during all Artemis missions beginning with Artemis 3 to take crewmembers from the Orion module to the HLS, is it reasonable to assume that an access point is being fabricated for the Artemis 4 Orion module to enable the crew to gain access to the HLS lunar lander?

[jacqmans]

Orion European Service Module-4 logo
30/05/2023

Logo for the fourth European Service Module (ESM) that is powering NASA's Orion spacecraft to send humans into space and the Moon as part of the Artemis programme. It is designed to send astronauts farther into space than ever before, beyond the Moon and to the lunar Gateway.

ESA has designed and is overseeing the development of Orion’s service module, the part of the spacecraft that supplies air, electricity and propulsion. Much like a train engine pulls passenger carriages and supplies power, the European Service Module will take the Orion capsule to its destination and back.

The Orion spacecraft is built by NASA with ESA providing the service module. The arrangement stems from the international partnership for the International Space Station. NASA’s decision to cooperate with ESA on a critical element for the mission is a strong sign of trust and confidence in ESA’s capabilities.

More than 20 companies around Europe are now building the European Service Modules as NASA works on Orion and the Space Launch System.

[pochimax]

Propulsion tank integration ✅ on the ESM-4

A major milestone for the European Service Module (ESM-4) has been achieved in our cleanroom in Bremen 🇩🇪, with the fitting of the propulsion tanks.

https://twitter.com/AirbusSpace/status/1912116074641826227

[hektor]

Given that this is in FY2025 I guess ESA will deliver ESM-4 to KSC no matter what. Any confirmation ?

[pochimax]

✅ The #Artemis programme continues to build momentum and one of the key milestones for the 4th
@esa European Service Module (ESM-4) is the integration of its powerhouse - the Orbital Manoeuvring System Engine (OMSE).
💡 OMSE is the primary engine used for major in space manoeuvres of the
@NASA_Orion spacecraft. It is responsible for orbital insertion and correction burns, trans-lunar injection adjustments, course correction on the return to the Moon and critical maneuvering for reentry alignment.
ℹ️ This engine ensures that Orion can safely navigate between Earth and Moon, executing precise burns at crucial moments throughout the mission.

https://twitter.com/AirbusSpace/status/1930289406105018614

[AndrewM]

Given that this is in FY2025 I guess ESA will deliver ESM-4 to KSC no matter what. Any confirmation ?

Seems like it is.

In the former category, Daniel Neuenschwander, ESA’s director of human and robotic exploration, said the agency and industry were looking at what they could do with the Orion service module, also known as ESM. ESA has delivered the service modules for the first three Artemis missions and expects to deliver later this year the ESM for Artemis 4—if, of course, there is still an Artemis 4.

https://www.thespacereview.com/article/5006/1 [June 16]

[hektor]

Delivery is scheduled for FY2026 at the earliest.

Whether NASA accepts or cancels this delivery from ESA will be a good indication of the path they are choosing to follow.

[AndrewM]

Cross-posting from ESM 3 thread.

Answering my own question...

Keys to the Moon: ESA hands over third European Service Module

As Artemis III moves forward, work on earlier and future missions continues. Final preparations for Artemis II are underway, with the mission launch planned by April next year. Meanwhile, the fourth European Service Module is being finalised in Bremen and will be shipped to the United States later this year.

[jacqmans]

https://twitter.com/AirbusSpace/status/1987855738132140483?s=20

[hektor]

https://twitter.com/esaspaceflight/status/1987855803571753383?s=20

[hektor]

Delivery is scheduled for FY2026 at the earliest.

Whether NASA accepts or cancels this delivery from ESA will be a good indication of the path they are choosing to follow.

So NASA accepts the delivery ?

[jacqmans]

European Service Module-4 is ready to sail
10/11/2025

In a few days, ESA’s fourth European Service Module will leave the integration halls of Airbus in Bremen, Germany, setting sail across the Atlantic Ocean in the next step of its journey. The module will propel NASA’s Orion spacecraft towards the Moon during Artemis IV, supplying the crew with water, air, electricity and a comfortable temperature throughout their voyage.

Once the module arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in the United States, engineers will connect it to the crew module and its distinctive European-built ‘X-wing’ solar arrays to form the complete Orion spacecraft for the Artemis IV mission.

Artemis IV will also bring ESA’s Lunar I-Hab habitation module to lunar orbit, where it will join NASA’s habitation and propulsion modules to form the international Gateway station, humankind’s next outpost around the Moon.

The European Service Module is a truly collaborative endeavour: the joint effort of engineers across more than 20 companies and 10 different European countries, working together to go forward to the Moon.

“ESM-4 will play a key role as the Artemis IV mission is due to deliver the International Habitation Module (Lunar I-Hab) of the Lunar Gateway space station. This state-of-the-art hardware, developed by Airbus Defence and Space and its subcontractors across Europe, demonstrates our ability to contribute to major international partnerships,” says Daniel Neuenschwander, Director of Human and Robotic Exploration at ESA.

The journey so far

Like the three modules before it, the journey of this European Service Module began in the cleanrooms of Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy. Here, engineers built the module’s backbone structure – the precise and robust framework that would later hold all its essential systems.

In June 2022, this structure arrived at Airbus’ site in Bremen, Germany, where engineers from across Europe began the intricate process of turning it into a fully functional spacecraft. Over many months of integration and testing, they installed and connected the module’s 11 km of wiring, 33 engines, and several tanks holding over 8000 litres of fuel as well as water and air for astronauts.

Life in lunar orbit

NASA’s Artemis IV mission will take the next step in building the lunar Gateway and bring a crew to the station for the first time.

Once Orion is in space, its powerhouse – the European Service Module – will fire its 24 reaction control thrusters to turn around and attach itself to ESA’s Lunar I-Hab. The module will then tug Orion and its crew of four astronauts into lunar orbit, where Lunar I-Hab will be connected to the first two modules of the Gateway: NASA’s propulsion and habitation modules.

Together with NASA’s habitation module, Lunar I-Hab will offer enough room on the Gateway for four astronauts staying 90 days at a time. This will allow part of the crew to live and conduct research in lunar orbit, while others descend to the surface for science and exploration.

With each European Service Module, Europe provides the essential power and life-support systems that make crewed missions to deep space possible. The delivery of ESA’s fourth European Service Module marks another step in Europe’s ongoing contribution to bringing humankind back to the Moon.

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/European_Service_Module-4_is_ready_to_sail#msdynmkt_trackingcontext=4aa4d6c4-45e2-430e-82dd-5fa578a40100