The Orion crew capsule is designed to jettison away from the SLS rocket in a launch abort scenario.
NASA put its Orion spacecraft to the test ahead of its planned journey to the Moon. The space agency simulated the extreme conditions the capsule may experience during a launch abort scenario when it would need to push itself, and its crew, away from the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.
NASA recently completed an 11-month test campaign of the crew module to ensure Orion is ready for the Artemis 2 mission, which will send a crew of four astronauts around the Moon and back. A team of engineers subjected the Orion Environmental Test Article (ETA) to a grueling series of tests at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio, simulating emergency scenarios during launch. Orion is designed to separate from the SLS rocket and safely splash down in the ocean during a launch abort scenario with astronauts on board.
“This event would be the maximum stress and highest load that any of the systems would see,†Robert Overy, Orion ETA project manager at NASA’s Glenn Research Center, said in a statement. “We’re taking a proven vehicle from a successful flight and pushing it to its limits. The safety of the astronaut crew depends on this test campaign.â€
During the tests, NASA engineers simulated the noise levels of an abort scenario during launch, as well as the electromagnetic effects of lightning strikes. The slow-motion video (above) shows Orion's docking module and parachute covers, as well as five airbags on top of the spacecraft that inflate upon splashdown, being flung away. This process is necessary to unfold the spacecraft's parachute system and deploy the airbags, which are designed to ensure a safe landing in the ocean for the crew.
It looks like the Orion module passed the test. “It’s been a successful test campaign,†Overy said. “The data has matched the prediction models, and everything operated as expected after being subjected to nominal and launch abort acoustic levels. We are still analyzing data, but the preliminary results show the vehicle and facility operated as desired.â€
NASA has been preparing for this test for over a decade. The space agency built the Reverberant Acoustic Test Facility, the world’s most powerful spacecraft acoustic test chamber, in 2011 for this specific test campaign. "These tests are absolutely critical because we have to complete all of these tests to say the spacecraft design is safe and we’re ready to fly a crew for the first time on Artemis II," Michael See, ETA vehicle manager at NASA's Orion Program, said in a statement. "This is the first time we’ve been able to test a spacecraft on the ground in such an extreme abort-level acoustic environment."
In November 2022, Orion launched on a 1.4 million mile journey to the Moon and back. The Artemis 1 mission was an uncrewed test flight of the capsule to prepare for its successor, Artemis 2. The mission was considered a success, despite an unexpected performance from Orion's heat shield during reentry. Artemis 2 was originally scheduled for launch in September 2025, but a recent delay to the program pushed Orion's crewed trip to April 2026. The mission is meant to lead up to Artemis 3, the first human landing on the Moon since Apollo. Artemis 3 was also delayed to sometime in mid-2027.
NASA's Artemis program has been a bit of a struggle, with the space agency racing to reach the lunar surface ahead of China, but issues with its SLS rocket, Orion's heat shield, and a number of other issues, have plagued the lunar program, causing several delays and cost overruns. Fortunately, Orion is now prepared to push itself away from the rocket in case of an emergency.