Artemis 1 Orion returns to KSC after Plum Brook testing

[Chris Bergin]

Big feature article for this milestone from Philip Sloss

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2020/03/artemis-1-orion-ksc-plum-brook-testing/

https://twitter.com/NASAKennedy/status/1242894317544517634

[Rocket Science]

Great summary Philip, thank you!

[jacqmans]

NASA's Super Guppy aircraft, carrying the Orion spacecraft, lands at Kennedy Space Center's Launch and Landing Facility runway in Florida on March 25, 2020. Orion has returned to Kennedy after testing at the agency's Plum Brook Station in Ohio verified the spacecraft can handle the extreme conditions of a deep-space environment. The spacecraft will now undergo final testing and assembly prior to being integrated with the Space Launch System rocket. Orion will fly on the agency's Artemis I mission - the first in a series of increasingly complex missions to the Moon that will ultimately lead to the exploration of Mars.

Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

[jacqmans]

NASA's Orion spacecraft, protected in its shipping container, is removed from the agency's Super Guppy aircraft at the Launch and Landing Facility runway at Kennedy Space Center on March 25, 2020, for transportation to the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building. After testing at NASA's Plum Brook Station in Ohio verified it can handle the extreme conditions of a deep-space environment, the spacecraft has returned to the Florida spaceport for final testing and assembly. Following this, it will be integrated with the Space Launch System rocket for Artemis I - the first in a series of increasingly complex missions to the Moon that will ultimately lead to the exploration of Mars.

Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

[jacqmans]

NASA's Orion spacecraft, protected in its shipping container, is loaded onto a transporter at the Launch and Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center for its move to the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building on March 25, 2020. After testing at NASA's Plum Brook Station in Ohio verified it can handle the extreme conditions of a deep-space environment, the spacecraft - carried by the agency's Super Guppy aircraft - has returned to the Florida spaceport for final testing and assembly. Following this, Orion will be integrated with the Space Launch System rocket for Artemis I - the first in a series of increasingly complex missions to the Moon that will ultimately lead to the exploration of Mars.

Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

[hektor]

Last stop before launch: Orion passes tests and returns to Kennedy Space Center

[jacqmans]

The Orion spacecraft, secured atop a transporter in its shipping container, arrives at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 25, 2020, for final testing and assembly. The spacecraft was transported to Kennedy in NASA’s Super Guppy aircraft from the agency’s Plum Brook Station in Ohio, where it underwent two phase of environmental testing. Following these final preparations, Orion will be integrated with the Space Launch System rocket for the Artemis I launch – the first in a series of increasingly complex missions to the Moon that will ultimately lead to the exploration of Mars.

Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

[jacqmans]

Artemis 1 Orion spacecraft leaves Ohio
27/03/2020

After four months of rigorous testing at NASA’s Plum Brook Station, the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis 1 mission is certified and another step toward being ready for flight.

The test campaign, which was completed ahead of schedule in mid-March, subjected the spacecraft to the extreme temperatures and electromagnetic conditions it will endure during its uncrewed test flight around the Moon and back to ensure it will perform as designed.

The spacecraft flew back to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center aboard NASA's one-of-a-kind Super Guppy that was built by Airbus for ESA under an International Space Station barter agreement. Orion will begin final assembly and checkout, including installation of the spacecraft’s four solar arrays, and eventual integration with the Space Launch System rocket.

Orion is a key component of Artemis 1 – an uncrewed test flight around the Moon that paves the way for the Artemis 3 mission, which will land the first woman and next man on the lunar surface by 2024. ESA is designing and supplying the European Service Module for the Orion spacecraft. This provides electricity, water, oxygen and nitrogen. It also keeps the spacecraft at the right temperature and on course, propelling it to the Moon and back once it has separated from the launcher.

Photo: NASA–Nicole Smith

[zubenelgenubi]

Back in Florida, Orion capsule nears readiness for Artemis test flight, dated March 30

Jules Schneider, Lockheed Martin’s assembly, test and launch operations manager at Kennedy, said ground crews planned to unpack the Orion spacecraft from its shipping container and rotate it from a horizontal to a vertical orientation, then install it on a test stand inside the O&C Building for inspections and functional testing to ensure the ship survived the trip from Ohio back to Florida.

Amanda Griffin, a NASA spokesperson at Kennedy, said teams plan to “continue mission processing” on the Orion spacecraft. That work is expected to continue unless Kennedy is elevated to Stage 4 of NASA’s coronavirus response framework, which would effectively close the center to nearly all employees.

From "our" article in the thread OP: Artemis 1 Orion returns to KSC after Plum Brook testing

At a subsystem and integrated level, the spacecraft was designed to be built and tested in a vertical orientation, so before turning out the proverbial lights it will be placed back in the Final Assembly System Test (FAST) cell in the Armstrong Operations and Checkout (O&C) Building at Kennedy.

***

Q: Is the work done in the O&C FAST cell, as well as safe configuration storage?
***

Paraphrasing from the SFN article; work to be done:
End-to-end subsystem testing.
Pressurize the vehicle’s propulsion system to check for leaks.
Install four solar array wings on the ship’s service module.
Install fairings and covers over the base of the service module.
Install the forward bay cover on the nose of the Orion crew module.

After the above work is completed, Orion will be placed in a “safe configuration” until it is turned over to NASA Exploration Ground Systems.

Handover to NASA EGS in "June timeframe."

From "our" article in the thread OP: Artemis 1 Orion returns to KSC after Plum Brook testing

The spacecraft will be moved to the Multi-Payload Processing Facility (MPPF) at KSC for eventual loading of propellant and other fluids. The timing of those activities will likely need to be resynchronized with the SLS Core Stage schedule sometime in the future when there’s more certainty about COVID-19 recovery and Green Run progress.

[Khadgars]

Is Artemis 1 Orion still planned for June handover to EGS?

[Markstark]

Is Artemis 1 Orion still planned for June handover to EGS?

No. Turn over to EGS will be linked to Core Stage Green Run. This is because there are clocks (life limited items) that start when Orion leaves the O&C. Don’t want to start those clocks sooner than necessary.

[hektor]

President Trump Tours Orion Capsules

[hektor]

https://twitter.com/FLOTUS/status/1266043310755524608?s=20