See Episode One: The Most Powerful Rocket NASA Has Ever Built.
Video Transcript:
What an interesting day at the Kennedy Space. You can see the Orion spaceship coming out of the O&C building where weve been assembling it for numerous years.
As huge a step as this is for us today, and presenting and beginning the journey of Artemis I to the Moon and beyond, were truly excited for this test program to get this automobile flown and to begin the next actions which are to send humans back to the Moon.
The twin sister of Apollo, Artemis is the name provided to the program that will return mankind to the Moon. And, called after one of the largest constellations in the night Sky, Orion is the spacecraft predestined to get us there.
Through Artemis objectives, NASA will land the very first woman and the very first individual of color on the lunar surface. And, these objectives will permit us to explore more of the Moon than ever in the past, leading the way for long-term presence in lunar orbit.
Were rolling the Orion spacecraft out, however its starting its journey. Were actually type of at the end of the structure procedure and the beginning of getting ready to go fly.
Before Orion can travel to our nearest celestial body, it initially needs to make a couple of pit stops along the method to fuel up and get all set for flight.
As we leave here today, were gon na go to a center thatll sustain the spacecraft with the rocket fuels and propellants it requires, well put a launch abort system on, well send it out to be stacked on the rocket and introduced, and its truly the last few backyards of the video game.
NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans is where, in 2015, technicians with Lockheed Martin began welding the pieces of the spacecrafts underlying aluminum structure together.
One year later on, it got here in Florida, taking up semi-permanent house inside the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center.
Engineers and professionals will spend the next 5 years working almost around the clock, equipping Orion with countless elements, and pushing the capsule through several rounds of strenuous testing, as groups prepare it for its flight around the Moon.
The initial step however is the team modules arrival.
When the crew module appears here at the O&C structure, its really just a welded shell of the structure. When it gets here, we put it into a component to my left called the bird cage tool, and we use that fixture to place and attach all of the mechanically attached secondary and primary structure for the crew module.
Part of that consists of the heat shield, which secures the team module as it blazes through Earths atmosphere at an impressive speed as it returns home.
Technicians with Lockheed bond those thermal security system products onto the heat shield right here in the O&C, and they do the same for the crew modules forward bay cover.
We bond that on here, and generally this covers the forward bay of the crew module such that once we return into the environment, this gets jettisoned, and all of the landing system– i.e. parachutes– get deployed and slows the team module down so that when it touches down in the ocean, its only going a few miles an hour.
With the secondary and main structures all connected, the crew module is checked to see how whatever holds up. Orion is pressurized, stressing the welds to ensure theyll hold up under the proper loading.
Afterward, nondestructive examination of those welds is conducted to look for any voids or cracks.
As soon as the structure is deemed strong enough, the team module is moved just a few areas down into the O&Cs tidy space for its next round of combinations.
We bring that structure into our clean space, which is what you see behind me, since we require to begin incorporating the propulsion system, and aspects of the ecological control and life support subsystems, and those systems need a cleaner environment than the one were standing in out here.
When all of that is done, the crew module is on the relocation once again, to the team module integration station. There, all of the electrical systems, consisting of wire harnesses and avionics boxes that control the crew modules guidance navigation, communications, and its power subsystems, are integrated.
Next, its time to bring the spacecraft to life.
We power it up, and after that we enter into an entire series of functional tests to make sure all of the subsystems weve incorporated approximately that point are working appropriately.
The team module isnt the only thing that makes up the Orion spacecraft.
All individuals, the work, the elements that have entered into this car, its simply an incredible accomplishment.
Teams also worked carefully with the European Space Agency to develop the service module– the element that will power Orion on its journey around the Moon. Once that gets here from Bremen, Germany, Lockheed progresses with incorporating the two.
The service module has a really comparable lifecycle to the team module. We construct it up structurally, we integrate the propulsion system and the other fluid systems, and then we integrate it electrically, and power it up, and do practical tests on it.
And when we have a complete module, and a complete team module, then we stack the 2 together and we have whats called the team service module for Artemis I.
Under the Artemis program, NASA prepares to not just return to the Moon, however to use that as a stepping stone to go further than any human has actually ever preceded: Mars.
To arrive, its really a cross-country and global effort among countless individuals.
When you consider all the individuals at the Johnson Space Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, all throughout the firm, SLS, Orion, the European Service Module, Boeing and their team, Lockheed Martin and their team, and to see all of that come together on that launch when we send it on its way to the Moon, its gon na be definitely incredible, and were gon na have a lot of really happy, delighted people.
Building a spacecraft predestined for deep-space exploration from the ground up is no easy job, and the fact that these teams have actually been able to come together and do simply that in the midst of an international pandemic is nothing except remarkable.
It truly is a testament to the labor force. If consider what weve been through over the years that theyve been putting this together, and especially, consider the environment that this team was dealing with.
Were dealing with covid, and were asking these folks to come into work every day and finish this spacecraft so we can keep this objective going.
And were ready, I indicate were excited. So as they turn this over to us, were all set to start.
And really, this is just the start of Orions course to the pad.
Its a little hard to take into words, and when you think about the reality that we are in the first circulation of what will be our countrys deep area expedition program, it hits you in the heart. And it actually speaks to why we all are doing what were doing.
I never thought as a little kid maturing I d become part of something like this today. Now as a papa of 2 young women, to be able to tell them what I do and to be able to have them at some point view the first woman stand on the Moon is quite fantastic to me personally.
As the Orion spacecraft leaves the O&C, its next stop is the Multi-Payload Processing Facility, or MPPF, where teams with NASAs Exploration Ground Systems and prime professional Jacobs will perform the next set of turning points: fueling and servicing the spacecraft.
We have a few months of tough but fulfilling work ahead of us to get to introduce. But this is it. This is our year. This is our time, and what folks have worked so hard for.
Now, were going to continue with processing, get that thing take a look at and sustained, get the launch abort motor stuck on top of it.
With fueling of Orions crew and service modules total, the spacecraft moves from the MPPF into the Launch Abort System Facility.
We simply completed fueling the spaceship and we moved it to the LASF center– the Launch Abort System Facility to put the launch abort system on the top of Orion.
And in July 2019, teams finished a critical test– the Ascent Abort-2 flight test– to verify the launch abort system works as anticipated.
After reaching an elevation of about 6 miles, where the test spacecraft experienced high-stress conditions anticipated throughout launch, the abort sequence set off.
Within milliseconds, the abort motor fired to pull the team module away to safety. Its attitude control motor turned the pill into the appropriate orientation, and the jettison motor fired to launch the team module for a splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean.
I feel simply honored and humbled every day to be able to deal with this stuff.
This rocket is absolutely remarkable.
Now that the spacecrafts launch abort system is safely in place, Orion is prepared for the next stop on its path to the pad: the Vehicle Assembly Building.
Once within, the spacecraft will be placed on top of the Space Launch System rocket– the most powerful rocket the world has ever seen.
Throughout Artemis I, Orion will venture thousands of miles beyond the moon throughout a roughly 3 week objective. Credit: NASA
Orion is NASAs brand-new exploration spacecraft, created to carry astronauts farther than theyve ever preceded, to destinations in deep area, including an asteroid and Mars. Orion will function as the expedition car that will carry the crew to area, supply emergency situation abort capability, sustain the crew throughout the area travel, and provide safe re-entry from deep area return velocities. Orion will release on NASAs effective new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System.
Called after among the largest constellations in the night sky, Orion is the name offered to the spacecraft that will bring the first lady and first individual of color to the Moon. However, before NASA flies astronauts aboard, the spacecraft, powered by the brand-new Space Launch System rocket, will take a trip tens of thousands of miles on a flight test around the Moon. Enjoy as groups at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida prepare Orion for that journey, equipping the spacecraft with its essential elements as it moves along its path to the pad.
Orion is NASAs new exploration spacecraft, developed to carry astronauts farther than theyve ever gone before, to locations in deep space, including an asteroid and Mars. Orion will serve as the exploration automobile that will bring the crew to space, supply emergency situation abort ability, sustain the crew throughout the space travel, and supply safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. Orion will introduce on NASAs powerful brand-new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System.
Named after one of the largest constellations in the night sky, Orion is the name provided to the spacecraft that will bring the first lady and very first individual of color to the Moon. Watch as groups at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida prepare Orion for that journey, outfitting the spacecraft with its needed components as it moves along its path to the pad.
