The return to Earth of the Spacecraft that splashed out on a giant lunar satellite: Test of the Orion Spacecraft’s Heat Shield
Rain, wind and large waves have moved into that area, and as a result the space agency decided to stop the splashdown near San Diego.
Upon return from this mission, Orion will have traveled roughly 1.3 million miles (2 million kilometers) on a path that swung out to a distant lunar orbit, carrying the capsule farther than any spacecraft designed to carry humans has ever traveled.
At this point, we are on track to have a successful mission with some bonus objectives that have been achieved along the way, said Mike Sara FINn in the press conference. The day of splashdown will be used to test re-entry of the vehicle and the recovery of the vehicle from the ocean.
The maneuver from last year will help the capsule land closer to the coast of the United States where recovery crews will wait to bring it back to land, according to a NASA post. When we fly in the air over the Pacific Ocean with Artemis II, landing accuracy will be important in helping us retrieve the crew quickly, and reduce the number of resources we need from the ocean to aid in recovery.
As it embarks on its final descent, the capsule will slow down drastically, shedding thousands of miles per hour in speed until its parachutes deploy. By the time it gets splashed down, it’s going to travel at an average speed of 30 kilometers per hour.
The return to Earth will be an important test for Orion’s heat shield, which must keep the capsule safe from the heat of re-entry, which can reach up to 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Testing the heat shield in real-world conditions is particularly important as there is no way to simulate this event in facilities here on Earth, Sarafin said, and it will be a vital piece of hardware to keep future astronauts safe when they travel in Orion for the Artemis II mission and beyond.
The spacecraft is finishing the final stretch of its journey, closing in on the thick inner layer of Earth’s atmosphere after traversing 239,000 miles (385,000 kilometers) between the moon and Earth. It is set to splash down in the Pacific Ocean off Baja California at 1pm Sunday. NASA will air live coverage of the event, beginning at 11 a.m. ET Sunday.
As it hits the air, the spaceship will be traveling at a speed of nearly 40,000 kilometers per hour and will cause compression waves on the outside of the vehicle to cause it to heat up. Artemis I flight director Judd Frieling said that the high temperatures will cause air to ionize causing a 512 minute communications shut down.
When the capsule reaches around 200,000 mph above the Earth’s surface, it will perform a roll maneuver that will temporarily send the capsule back upward.
“By dividing the heat and force of reentry into two events, skip entry also offers benefits like lessening the g-forces astronauts are subject to,” according to Lockheed, referring to the crushing forces humans experience during spaceflight.
What is the best way to make the Artemis II mission an A-plus, and what would I give it to a school teacher?
Nelson emphasized the importance of demonstrating that the capsule can make a safe return while there are no astronauts on the test mission.
If the Artemis I mission is successful, NASA will use the data gathered to design the Artemis II mission, which can takeoff in 2024.
This mission had a primary goal of using the service module to deploy 10 small satellites. Four of those satellites failed, including a miniature lunar lander developed in Japan and a NASA experiment meant to be one of the first tiny satellites to explore interplanetary space.
During two close fly bys, the voyager captured amazing pictures of Earth and the moon and made a captivating video of the Earth rise.
“Not an A-plus, simply because we expect things to go wrong. And the good news is that when they do go wrong, NASA knows how to fix them,” Nelson said. But “if I’m a schoolteacher, I would give it an A-plus.”