Just two questions today:- Will SM in-flight telemetry be transmitted to Earth directly from the module, or via Orion's antenna?- Will SM systems be monitored from Houston (via on-site ESA engineers) only, or from Europe as is done with the Columbus module, or both?Thx
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.
While #OrionESM-1 orbits the #Moon to test its system during the #Artemis I mission planned for 🚀 in a few weeks, ESM-2 will undergo test campaigns on the crew module interfaces & overall system integrity for the 1st crewed Moon-mission planned for 2024🔗 https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/stories/2022-10-first-crewed-moon-mission-gets-closer
Artemis II – European Service Module perspectiveEuropean Space Agency, ESA5 Dec 2022After the uncrewed Artemis I test flight, the Artemis II mission will have astronauts demonstrate what the Orion spacecraft – powered by a European Service Module – can do on its voyage around the Moon.Two astronauts will fly on the second Artemis mission and take over controls to show how Orion handles at close-quarter flying. While in Earth orbit the spacecraft will detach from its second stage, fly away, turn around, approach the second stage and then fly away again – all using the European Service Module’s 33 thrusters.Whereas in the first Artemis mission the second stage fired Orion into its lunar orbit, for the second mission it will be the European Service Module that will give the spacecraft its final push to its voyage around the Moon.The crew will fly Orion to 8889 km beyond the Moon before completing a lunar flyby and returning to Earth. The mission will take a minimum of eight days and will collect valuable flight test data.The European Service Module is one of ESA’s many contributions to NASA’s Orion spacecraft and the Artemis programme that will send astronauts to the Moon and beyond. It provides electricity, water, oxygen and nitrogen as well as keeping the spacecraft at the right temperature and on course.The European Service Module has 33 thrusters, 11 km of electrical wiring, four propellant and two pressure tanks that all work together to supply propulsion and everything needed to keep astronauts alive far from Earth – there is no room for error.
KSC-20230221-PH-KSL03_0022 The European Service Module for the Artemis II mission is photographed inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 21, 2023. Artemis II will be the first crewed flight test of the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft. The service module will provide the power necessary to propel Orion on a trip around the Moon, including the in-space maneuvering capability and other commodities necessary to sustain crew for the duration of the mission. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
The Artemis II engine with a Legacy
🔊🚀#Artemis II's #European Service Module is listening to some ear-splitting beats, getting ready for an intensive launch!Fun fact: @Metallica's song “Orion” is the perfect amount of time to launch the Orion spacecraft into Earth orbit.👉 https://blogs.esa.int/orion/2023/04/05/dropping-the-fat-beats-with-d-fat/
📷 These are the solar wings for European Service Module ESM-2, being tested at @NASAKennedy for #ArtemisII, the first crewed mission on humankind’s path toward establishing a long-term presence on the Moon (pic: NASA/G.Benson)👉https://blogs.esa.int/orion/2023/04/18/flight-of-the-solar-array-wings-for-artemis-ii/ #ForwardToTheMoon
Coming 🔜... acoustic test for #OrionESM 2!#Behindthescenes when we mounted the 4 solar wings ☀️ to get ready for the Service Module acoustic test.After the test, the solar wings will be dismounted and inspected. Then, they will be stored under nitrogen until they are finally installed for flight to the Moon in 2024. 🚀
All about that bass 🔊The European Service Module for @NASA’s #Artemis II mission was surrounded with speakers and attached microphones, accelerometers, and more to measure the effects of different acoustic levels. Learn more: https://go.nasa.gov/3LXGf9u
🔊Boom! This month the #European Service Module-2 for @NASA_Orion completed direct-field acoustic testing. The loads and dynamics team confirm #Artemis II D-FAT success, one more test down before launch to the #Moon! 🌓
DROPPING THE FAT BEATS WITH D-FATThe second European Service Module for Orion is withstanding a barrage of noise in its preparation for the Artemis II flight around the Moon. The Direct Field Acoustic Testing, or D-FAT, throws sound at spacecraft hardware to monitor its reaction. These sounds simulate the vibrations that Orion (and the four astronauts inside) will endure at liftoff for Artemis II. The astronauts themselves will be protected from the full blast of the rocket launch noise as they will be inside the spacecraft that is inside the rocket fairing – and also because they will be at the opposite end of the noisy part of the Space Launch System mega Moon rocket: The engines.A large number of speakers are placed close to the European Service Module at strategic places and a technician turns up the wall of sound to the max. Sound pressure data and how the European Service Module copes with the battery of noise is collected with microphones, strain gauges and accelerometers. The max decibel level can reach over 140 decibels, which is louder than a jackhammer and similar to standing next to the speakers at a live rock concert.Turn it up to the maxThese tests are common for all spacecraft before launch. Most space agencies have dedicated rooms with speakers to bombard hardware with sound waves, and ESA’s Large European Acoustic Facility (LEAF) at our technical heart ESTEC in The Netherlands can crank the volume all the way up to 158.5 decibels. This is the most powerful sound system in Europe – but no human being could survive hearing it at maximum output.For the Artemis spacecraft the tests are being done at NASA’s Operations and Checkout building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, and not in a dedicated room such as ESA’s LEAF. The lower decibels are sufficient for testing in this case as the rocket fairing surrounding the European Service Modules and Orion on launch are not installed, as these protect the Orion spacecraft from the sound, as well as the atmosphere as it rockets upwards to the Moon.The mobile sound system used for Orion is still pretty powerful, but how powerful? ESA’s European Service Module principle mechanical engineer, Stephen Durrant, explains:“There isn’t a straight forward answer!It is hard to give an exact number for how much the speakers output. We (the guys running the test that is!) usually talk in terms of electrical potential:The subwoofers are powered by an integrated 8500 watt amplifier. With 110 subs that is nearly 1 million watts of potential power on tap just for the subs.The amplifiers for the mid/high speakers, add another 30000 watts per amp, for a total of another 3 million watts of potential power.We powered this test with a 1 MegaW generator so the system is capped by that. But a rough estimate is the test set-up was using between 40-60% of the generator capacity to power the set-up for the qual level testing. Everything in the system is horn loaded which allows for greater efficiency at higher levels.”Good neigboursThe 140-plus-decibels that the European Service Module-2 has to endure is still very loud, so loud that it would damage your hearing without adequate protection. So loud it would have the neighbours banging at the door, and funnily enough the Orion and European Service Module teams were asked to schedule the tests to ensure that the International Space Station astronauts would be able to get a good rest before their launch.describes the sound produced for testing: “It’s random noise (from 25Hz up to 10000Hz)… From outside the building area you hear a ‘rumble’ of the low(er) frequency noise.“With 140dB of noise, I wouldn’t want to try to be standing next to the speakers or in the hall to try to give you a better description!!”Astronauts who launch from Kennedy Space Center, such as Crew-6 that launched on a Falcon rocket, spend their last days and nights on Earth in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building, the very same building where Orion is built up. Out of respect for Crew-6 the Orion teams withheld turning up the D-FAT speakers in the last nights before their launch. On 2 March Crew-6 was launched to the Space Station in Crew Dragon Endeavour spacecraft (which also had its own round of acoustic testing ) and the four astronauts are working well-rested in humankind’s largest space laboratory.Post concert come-downThe D-FAT sound bombardment continues to check the myriad of electronics inside the European Service Module-2 are working correctly. It’s older sibling, the European Service Module-1 went through the same ordeal and passed with flying-to-the-Moon colours. When European Service Module-2 passes the test, the speakers will be packed up and the engineers will move on to the next part of producing a lunar spacecraft – installing the solar array wings.The company that rents out the speakers for D-FATs also rents the same speakers for rock concerts. This reminds us of a cool little coincidence during the Artemis I launch: the excellent Metallica song “Orion”, released in 1986, has a running time of pretty much the same time it takes to launch the Orion spacecraft into Earth orbit. Hit play on the Spotify and Youtube links below to relive the launch with a fitting soundtrack – it really rocks!Surely this coincidence begs to be exploited for a next Artemis launch with a live rendition by Metallica of Orion, blasting from the same speakers used to test the spacecraft (at a safe distance of course).
Direc-Field Acoustic Testing of the Orion crew module in 2016. Credits: Dusty Volkel / Lockheed Martin
ESA’s house of boom, the Large European Acoustic Facility. Credits: ESA–G. Schoonewille
Crew-6 ready for launch to the International Space Station. Credits: SpaceX
✅ Artemis II @NASA_Orion Service Module Completes Acoustic TestingEngineers recently completed a series of acoustic tests on the European Service Module for NASA’s Artemis II mission while inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.MORE: https://blogs.nasa.gov/artemis/2023/05/12/artemis-ii-orion-service-module-completes-acoustic-testing/
Orion's #Artemis II @ESA service module assembly is nearing completion! It was moved into the Final Assembly and System Testing (FAST) Cell at @NASAKennedy, where it will be integrated with the crew module before being handed over to @NASAGroundSys for fueling.