Angela Marina
Problems with the Orion spacecraft’s heat shield are jeopardizing the timing of NASA’s next lunar exploration mission, Artemis.
Image source: NASA
NASA’s lunar exploration program faces serious challenges on the way to the next manned mission. The Artemis 2 mission, planned for 2025, is expected to return astronauts to lunar orbit, but the test flight is unmanned «Orion » As part of the Artemis-1 mission, he identified several technical flaws that threaten the safety of future crews.
NASA’s Office of Inspector General released a report on May 1 detailing these problems. The worst of them are related to the thermal protection system of the Orion spacecraft. More than 100 areas of insulating material showed excessive wear during re-entry, with chunks of burning material falling off the spacecraft and some even briefly sticking to windows , which could obstruct the vision of pilots.
In addition, the inspectors identified problems with mounting bolts and power distribution on the vessel. All these defects could jeopardize the success and safety of the flight with astronauts on board.
At the same time, the report emphasizes that NASA does not have much time to update and test new systems, since the launch is planned less than 2 years in advance, and there are schedule delays any denial of the opportunities to meet the deadlines.
Apparently, it seems that NASA’s lunar exploration program has been seriously halted due to technical flaws that were revealed after the first test flight. The space agency has a big job ahead of it to ensure the safety of astronauts on the next phase of the Artemis mission, otherwise the timetable for a human return to the lunar surface could be pushed back by several years again.
2024-05-02 17:28:00
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