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This frame is looks like something straight out of 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The Crawler-Transporter 2 is stationed outside of launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in preparation to return the #Artemis I mobile launcher back to the Vehicle Assembly Building later this week.
Return Transit Correction-4 complete. The European Service Module fired its reaction control system thrusters today at 11:43 CET (10:43 GMT) to fine-tune @NASA_Orion's return to Earth.
Just two more burns planned before splashdown on 11 December.
Artemis I short mission overview – Orion blog
News and updates on Europe's Service Module for NASA's Orion spacecraft and Artemisblogs.esa.int
Are the biodiesels acting up, I wonder?I would've thought that ML-1 was already back in the VAB being repaired.
If anyone needs a new wallpaper for your phone or desktop...
View: https://twitter.com/blueorigin/status/1600233901833695232
The National Team has submitted its proposal for NASA’s SLD program to help the US establish a sustained lunar presence. The National Team partners are @BlueOrigin, @LockheedMartin, @DraperLab, @Boeing, @Astrobotic, and @Honeybee_Ltd.
SLD National Team | Blue Origin
www.blueorigin.com
Sustaining Lunar Development
The National Team of Blue Origin, Lockheed Martin, Draper, Boeing, Astrobotic, and Honeybee Robotics is competing for a NASA Sustaining Lunar Development contract to develop a human landing system for the Artemis program. In partnership with NASA, this team will achieve sustained presence on the Moon.
Joel Kearns, SMD Dep Assoc Admin for Expl, shows this chart to PAC re CLPS status. 8 CLPS missions + 3 selected science instruments. NASA doesn't think Masten will deliver so really only 7 active missions. Those instruments will be put on future missions.
Kearns says NASA surprised by Masten's financial situation. Will do addl financial reviews before future selections, but hard to get independent financial info on small privately held companies like many of 13 CLPS providers. NASA now more "rigorous and invasive" asking for data.
While @NASA_Orion is about to make its closest approach to the Moon, the backbone of the fifth @esa European Service module, the one that will serve @NASAArtemis mission V, is getting ready to depart from @Thales_Alenia_S in #Turin, to continue its integration phase in #Bremen.
Package status: DELIVERED!
The first of the science instruments for our VIPER Moon rover, the Near Infrared Volatile Spectrometer Subsystem (NIRVSS), has arrived at @NASA_Johnson where the rover build will take place. Next step, unboxing!
Learn more: nasa.gov/viper
View: https://twitter.com/lockheedmartin/status/1600235077279313920
#Artemis is an inspiration to our world and the next generation of explorers. We are bringing our rich history of deep space exploration and human spaceflight to the National Team to develop a lander that will usher in the new, lunar economy.
View: https://twitter.com/draperlab/status/1600235783469744128
Draper is ready to go back to the Moon! This time we will go with the National Team, led by Blue Origin and with teammates Astrobotic, Boeing, Honeybee Robotics and Lockheed Martin.
twitter.com/boeingspace/status/1600236707281915906
The Moon holds a special place in humanity’s imagination. We are excited to help drive a new generation of exploration that will learn more about our cosmic neighbor and, ultimately, about all of us. The National Team's focus on teamwork will make the dream work for all.
View: https://twitter.com/astrobotic/status/1600237902729924608
We’re heading to the Moon (again)! Astrobotic is continuing to make space accessible to the world by supporting the SLD National Team led by @blueorigin. We bring 15 years of focus and lunar experience with us – and a whole lot of #Pittsburgh & #Mojave grit! #ToTheMoon #Artemis
Annotated version Moon mosaic I stitch from @NASA_Orion #Artemis1 images 1st lunar flyby orbiting over far side highlands near equator-FD6 21Nov2022.@NASA_Johnson kindly provide me crater names. Compare side by side my unlabeled orig mosaic.
Cred:NASA/JSC/Ken Kremer/SpaceUpClose
Orion's Optical Navigation Camera captured these stunning views of the lunar surface during our flyby on #Artemis flight day 20.
View: https://twitter.com/LMSpace/status/1600606127284056064How much is that doggy in the window?
Don't worry! Snoopy is safely secured inside @NASA_Orion. But we just thought it'd be fun to imagine seeing him from the solar array wing camera.
Learn more about Snoopy's ride to deep space:
The U.S.S. Portland is outbound from San Diego to recover Orion at the end of the Artemis 1 mission!!
There she goes! Godspeed Artemis I recovery team! Can’t wait until you guys get back to port with Orion!
If I told you this was the actual speed it happened, would you believe me?
NASA's crawler transporter climbs pad 39-B and parks under the mobile launcher ahead of rollback to the VAB.
Highlight from: nsf.live/spacecoast
The mobile launcher has arrived outside the Vehicle Assembly Building High Bay 3 doors and will stay there overnight to allow teams rest. Operations to roll the ML inside the VAB will continue and be completed tomorrow.
Our big @NASA_Orion activity yesterday was the second propellant slosh test. Propellant motion is challenging to model because it moves differently in space, thanks to gravity. Engineers performed a test on day 8, and now again to compare against different levels of propellant.
Artemis I briefing underway: NASA’s Sarafin says everything proceeding as planned for Dec. 11 entry and splashdown off the coast of California. USS Portland, deployed Wednesday, will pick up Orion.
Artemis I mission manager Mike Sarafin says engineers have seen some "degraded behavior" with a phased array antenna on the Crew Module. This is antenna no. 1. It is working, but has "low performance," causing some periodic communications dropouts.
Frieling says that they are tracking “only two” objects in orbit that come anywhere near Orion during reentry, but the probability of collision is “nearly zero”.
NASA's Jim Geffre said there have been 47 drop tests done of Orion's parachute system. "I think the risk has been characterized pretty well," he says.
View: https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1600985149285568512
Frieling says that they are tracking “only two” objects in orbit that come anywhere near Orion during reentry, but the probability of collision is “nearly zero”.
View: https://twitter.com/sciguyspace/status/1600982544480178176
NASA's Jim Geffre said there have been 47 drop tests done of Orion's parachute system. "I think the risk has been characterized pretty well," he says.
View: https://twitter.com/esaspaceflight/status/1601216412378230785#Artemis ESM Command & Data Handling officer Luca Fossati reports levels as expected, @shaunthesheep has plenty of air and water, but is missing the feeling of rain and wet grass under his hooves.Awaiting update on cheese and pizza status (Friday night is Pizza/Disco Night)
Mission Time: 23 days, 4 hrs, 19 min
Orion is 190,219 mi from Earth, 199,423 mi from the Moon, cruising at 1,741 mph.
P: 144162, 128403, 20858
V: -1216, -1041, -686
O: 9º, 11º, 301º
What's this? http://www.nasa.gov/feature/track-nasa-s-artemis-i-mission-in-real-time
View: https://twitter.com/nasagroundsys/status/1601292981117784065Overnight, flight controllers at @NASA_Johnson conducted a final survey of @NASA_Orion using the solar array cameras. We looked at the crew module, carefully examining the backshell that will protect the spacecraft from the cold of space and the extreme heat of re-entry.
At 11:26 a.m. EST Friday, Dec. 9, @NASA's mobile launcher was safely secured inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency's @NASAKennedy Space Center in Florida after a four-mile journey from Launch Pad 39B that began at 6:40 a.m. EST Thursday, Dec. 8.
The truth is out there! Did you find the Easter Eggs inside Orion? Check your guesses here:
Dec 10, 2022
Hidden Messages Pay Tribute Inside NASA’s Artemis I Orion Spacecraft
While NASA’s Artemis I mission is uncrewed to give engineers an opportunity to test the Orion spacecraft in the harsh environment of deep space before astronauts begin flying to the Moon, the crew cabin is far from empty — data-collecting torsos and a manikin, deep space biology experiments, an official flight kit, a voice-activated technology demonstration, and a zero-gravity indicator, Snoopy, have all been along for the ride as the spacecraft ventured 270,000 miles from Earth. There are also several extras placed inside Orion’s cabin for other reasons, from lasting tributes to colleagues, to nods to NASA’s Apollo history, and even puzzles with a hidden meaning, commonly known as “Easter eggs.”
While many of the payloads aboard Orion will help NASA learn how to protect future astronauts and learn about the effects of deep space, and the flight kit items will help provide educational or cultural engagement, adding extras is a tradition that dates back to early space exploration.
Mementos and hidden messages have become a mainstay. On Voyager 1 and 2, The Golden Record on board contains sounds and images from Earth for potential distant spacefarers who might find the spacecraft. Mars rovers Opportunity and Spirit carried metal from the wreckage of the Twin Towers on 9/11, and Spirit also carried a memorial to the crew of the space shuttle Columbia. More recently, NASA’s Perseverance Rover carried a variety of objects, from commemorative placards to a binary puzzle designed into the parachute fabric.
For Artemis I, Orion has five hidden messages placed around the crew cabin:
An image of a cardinal above the window to the right of Orion’s pilot seat is a tribute to former Orion Program manager, Johnson Space Center director, and devout St. Louis Cardinals fan Mark Geyer, who died in 2021. Geyer was the first program manager for Orion, including during its successful Exploration Flight Test-1 in 2014, before leading Johnson.
Located above the Callisto voice-activated technology demonstration in the middle of the cabin, a morse code symbol for “Charlie” commemorates the life of former Orion Deputy Program Manager Charlie Lundquist, who died in 2020. Lundquist worked in the Orion Program between 2008 and his passing, playing an instrumental role in Orion’s development.
As a testament to Orion’s international partnership with ESA (European Space Agency), the country codes of each country that participated in developing and building the spacecraft’s European Service Module can be found directly in front of the pilot’s seat and below the Callisto payload. The countries include the United States, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Spain, and The Netherlands.
On the starboard or right side of the spacecraft, next to the pilot seat and below one of the windows, are the letters “CBAGF.” Those familiar with reading music may recognize them as notes to the song “Fly Me to the Moon.” Frank Sinatra's 1964 version was associated with the Apollo missions to the Moon.
Binary code for the number 18 is located on the top of the pilot’s seat, to the right of the NASA worm logo. This is to honor NASA’s history of travel to the Moon with the Apollo Program and to celebrate a human spacecraft’s return to the Moon after Apollo 17 for the Artemis Generation.
Orion is set to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday, Dec. 11. Artemis I is a mission testing the Orion spacecraft in the extreme environment of deep space around the Moon before flying astronauts on Artemis II. Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface.
Erika Peters
NASA’s Johnson Space Center
Last Updated: Dec 10, 2022
Editor: Erika Peters
Tags: Artemis I, Orion Spacecraft
#Artemis log, flight day 25, the last full day in space for @NASA_Orion and the European Service Module.
One of the last transit correction burns
Testing solar array wing temperatures
Ready for separation and splashdown tonight!
ARTEMIS I: FLIGHT DAY 25 – LAST FULL DAY
11/12/2022
Flight day 25, 10 December, was the last full day in space for Orion and its European Service Module. Splashdown off the coast of Baja is set for 18:39 CET (17:39 GMT) on 11 December with the European Service Module separating from the spacecraft 40 minutes before and burning up harmlessly in the atmosphere.
Engineers conducted the last Artemis I flight test objective in space, measuring temperature on solar array wings that increase from engine exhaust gas. Once the European solar array wing was in position for the test, flight controllers fired the reaction control system thrusters using opposing thrusters simultaneously to minimise changing direction and speed but in a variety of firing patterns. Engineers will perform several additional flight test objectives after Orion splashes down in the water and before powering down the spacecraft.
The fifth return trajectory correction burn occurred at 21:32 CET (20:32 GMT). During the burn the auxiliary engines fired for 8 seconds, accelerating the spacecraft by 5.5 km/h (1.6 m/s) to ensure Orion is on course for splashdown. The sixth and final trajectory correction burn will take place about five hours before Orion enters Earth’s atmosphere, the last major operation for the European Service Module.
On Orion’s return to Earth, NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS) will facilitate communications for the final return trajectory correction burn, spacecraft separation, reentry through the Earth’s atmosphere and splashdown. Shortly before the service module separates from the crew module, communication will be switched from NASA’s Deep Space Network to its Near Space Network for the remainder of the mission. Located in geosynchronous orbit about 35 400 km above Earth, TDRS are used to relay data from spacecraft at lower altitudes to ground antennas, including communications for the International Space Station.
During reentry, the intense heat generated as Orion encounters the atmosphere turns the air surrounding the capsule into plasma and briefly disrupts communication with the spacecraft. The same heat from reentry is what will incinerate the European Service Module, by design it is unprotected from these extreme temperatures and will not survive reentry.
Recovery
For the Orion crew capsule the mission continues 40 minutes longer than the European Service Module’s. The primary objective for the Artemis I mission is to safely splash down and recover the capsule. Recovery forces have arrived on location off the coast of Baja where they will stand by to greet the spacecraft after its reentry back into the atmosphere. On the ship, personnel are running through preparations and simulations to ensure the interagency landing and recovery team, led by NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, where the Artremis was launched almost a month ago now. The team consists of personnel and assets from the US Department of Defense, including Navy amphibious specialists and Space Force weather specialists, and engineers and technicians from Kennedy Space Center, Johnson Space Center in Houston, USA, and Lockheed Martin Space Operations.
Teams will recover Orion and attempt to recover hardware jettisoned during landing, including the forward bay cover and three main parachutes. A four-person team of engineers from Johnson will help get the ship as close as possible to Orion for a quick recovery. A secondary objective is to recover as many additional elements as possible for analysis later
Just after 21:00 CET (20:00 GMT) on 10 December Orion was 182 585 km from Earth and 385 330 km from the Moon, cruising at 5430 km/h.
Live coverage of Orion’s reentry and splashdown will begin at 17:00 CET (16:00 GMT). A post-splashdown briefing is scheduled for about 21:30 CET (20:30 GMT).
View: https://twitter.com/esaspaceflight/status/1601960833982296065Awe-inspiring view of our planet with the European Service Module as @NASA_Orion heads home.
View: https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow/status/1601978344194572288What's ahead for Orion:
•12pm EST: Jettison of European service module
•12:20pm: Entry interface
•12:27pm: Peak altitude during skip re-entry
•12:31pm: End comms blackout
• 12:36pm: Drogue chutes
• 12:37pm: Main chutes
• 12:39pm: Splashdown
View: https://twitter.com/SpaceflightNow/status/1601985326238646272NASA confirms separation of the Orion spacecraft's European-built service module. The power and propulsion module will burn up on re-entry, while the crew module will re-enter with protection from a heat shield. https://
Orion is now moving at ~25,000 mph, and is entering into one of the two communication blackout periods that last ~4 minutes each. twitter.com/nasafltdirecto…