Orion Program Update:Progress Report for May

Progress in getting Orion into deep space on the Artemis 1 and 2 missions continued in May.On 14 May, the twin boosters of the Space Launch System rocket were ready to be mated with the Artemis 1 SLS Core Stage; while the Orion crew module and European Service Module were in launch processing.Finally, the Lockheed Martin Orion spacecraft will be stacked on top of the Boeing Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage.The ICPS has an Aerojet Rocketdyne RL 10 engine that will propel Orion toward its lunar destination at a speed of over 24,000 miles an hour/38,624.2 kilometers an hour. The Orion spacecraft and ICPS are currently being fueled and serviced in the Multi-Payload Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center.Once Orion has been fueled,it will move to the Launch Abort System Facility for integration with its Launch Abort System, while the ICPS will move to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher.* On 18 May, the first Artemis 1 mission simulation was held by the Mission Management Team and the NASA Orion team.They simulated flight day 16,in which the Orion spacecraft makes ready to exit its distant retrograde orbit 40,000 miles beyond the Moon. Artemis 1 will be the first uncrewed integrated test of the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket later this year.The spacecraft will travel over 1.3 million miles/2,092,147.2 kilometers to a point well past the Moon and back to Earth, checking out the flight hardware and software for safety.The Apollo Program launched a similar uncrewed shakedown mission.* Stacking and assembly of the Core Stage of the Space Launch System rocket for Artemis 2, the first crewed mission on the Orion spacecraft, continued at NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana on 27 May.Teams connected the forward skirt with the liquid oxygen tank and intertank hardware. Earlier,on 21 May, the fourth and final splash test of the Orion crew module for the Artemis 2 mission took place at NASA Langley Research Center, Virginia.The crew module was dropped into the hydro impact basin at 41 mph/65.9 kmh in order to gather critical data, helping to prepare for the crewed mission by showing researchers what splashdown will be like for the crew and capsule. Orion Program Program Manager Catherine Koerner tweeted that: The drop test program validates computer models, giving us confidence that we will bring the crew home safely after their journey around the Moon on Artemis 2.* Launch for Artemis 1 has been set for 4 November 2021. Artemis 2 will be launched no earlier than September 2023.Artemis 3 will be the first crewed lunar landing mission since the 1970s,and seems doubtful to be launched before 2025, given uncertain funding in the current financial climate.* Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings (AJRD), Boeing (BA), Lockheed Martin (LMT)