NASA has completed an 11-month test campaign on its Orion Environmental Test Article (ETA), a crucial step towards ensuring the safety of its Artemis program. The tests, which began in January 2024, simulated extreme conditions such as launch abort scenarios to assess the spacecraft’s ability to withstand emergency events.
The series of tests subjected the ETA to high noise levels and simulated the separation sequence from the SLS rocket during an emergency for a safe landing in the ocean. These simulations aimed to demonstrate the processes for ejecting the docking module, unfolding Orion’s parachute system, and deploying airbags designed to inflate upon splashdown.
“It’s been a successful test campaign,” said Robert Overy, Orion ETA project manager. “The data has matched the prediction models, and everything operated as expected after being subjected to nominal and launch abort acoustic levels.”
The tests are critical in determining the safety of the Artemis 2 mission, which is slated to launch in April 2026. The primary goal of the mission is to conduct the first crewed test flight of the Orion spacecraft and the SLS rocket, carrying four astronauts around the moon and returning to Earth.
These tests bring NASA one step closer to achieving its ambitious goal of landing humans on the moon for the first time since the Apollo missions over 50 years ago.
Source: https://www.yahoo.com/news/watch-nasas-artemis-orion-moon-180000073.html