Construction has officially begun on Orion crew capsule

Lockheed Martin has begun construction on the space capsule that will soon bring humans back to the moon – and ultimately, to Mars.

While NASA has been hard at work in recent months readying the Orion spacecraft and SLS rocket for an unmanned flight next year, the space agency and its partners are already looking ahead.

This week, officials revealed that technicians and engineers have welded together the first two components of the Orion crew module for the EM-2 mission, which will put astronauts aboard the capsule for the first time.

The manned EM-2 mission is slated to launch as early as 2021 from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, following the unmanned EM-1 mission next year.

And, work is now officially underway on the capsules for both missions.

‘Orion has tremendous momentum,’ said Mike Hawes, Lockheed Martin vice president and program manager for Orion.

‘We’re finishing assembly of the EM-1 Orion spacecraft in Florida, and simultaneously starting production on the first one that will carry crew.

‘This is not only the most advanced spacecraft ever built, its production will be more efficient than any previous capsule.

‘For example, look at the progress we’ve made on the EM-2 pressure vessel compared to the first one we built.

‘The latest version is 30 percent lighter and has 80 percent fewer parts. That equates to a substantially more cost-effective and capable spacecraft.’

The Orion crew module is designed to withstand the harsh conditions of deep space travel.

This week, officials revealed that technicians and engineers have welded together the first two components of the Orion crew module for the EM-2 mission, which will put astronauts aboard the capsule for the first time. NASA shared a photo of the progress on Twitter

WHAT ARE NASA’S PLANS FOR ORION?

Nasa’s Orion, stacked on a Space Launch System rocket capable of lifting 70 metric tons will launch from a newly refurbished Kennedy Space Center in 2019 for the EM-1 mission.

The uncrewed Orion will travel into Distant Retrograde Orbit, breaking the distance record reached by the most remote Apollo spacecraft, and then 30,000 miles farther out (275,000 total miles).

The mission will last 22 days and was designed to test system readiness for future crewed operations. 

Then, following the uncrewed space flight tests, the first crewed test flight will launch.

While NASA has been hard at work in recent months readying the Orion spacecraft and SLS rocket for an unmanned flight next year, the space agency and its partners are already looking ahead. An artist’s impression is pictured 

This could come as early as August 2021, according to NASA.

Though crew size will be determined closer to launch, the space agency plans to fly up to four astronauts.

Orion will carry the crew through two orbits around Earth to ensure everything is working properly.

Them, it will carry out different orbital to eventually be on a path toward the moon.

The crew will fly around the backside of the moon, creating a figure eight, before returning to Earth using the moon’s gravitational pull ‘like a slingshot to bring Orion home,’ NASA says.

Its main structure, the pressure vessel, is made up of seven large machined aluminium allow pieces welded together to make a strong, light-weight, air-tight capsule.

With the first weld, the team now says the forward bulkhead has been combined with the tunnel section to create the top of the spacecraft.

Construction on the pressure vessel at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans will continue over spring and summer, to add the three cone panels, the large barrel, and the aft bulkhead.

It’s set to be completed in September, when it will be shipped to the Kennedy Space Center for assembly and tests.

NASA has been hard at work in recent months readying the Orion spacecraft and SLS rocket for an unmanned flight next year. The Orion stage adapter flight hardware for NASA’s Space Launch System has been outfitted and is ready to travel to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida

Just last week, NASA tested the Space Launch System (SLS) engine at Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, for the second time this year. The SLS will send humans to ‘deep-space’ destinations such as Mars and the moon; it could send humans to Mars in the 2030s

‘The EM-1 and EM-2 crew modules are very similar in design, but we’ve made a lot of improvements since we built EM-1, including processes, scheduling, and supply chain, all contributing to a lower cost and faster manufacturing,’ said Paul Anderson, director of Orion EM-2 production at Lockheed Martin.

‘Each of these spacecraft are important, but we realize that the EM-2 capsule is special as it’s the first one to carry astronauts back out to the moon, something we haven’ done in a long time. It’s something we think about every day.’    

Just last week, NASA tested the Space Launch System (SLS) engine at Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, for the second time this year.

It came on the heels of the first RS-25 test of 2018 two weeks ago.

NASA says the test finalized the green run testing for the four new RS-25 engine flight controllers.

Lockheed Martin has plans for Orion even beyond the EM-1 and EM-2 missions. The firm revealed this fall that it will set up a ‘Mars base camp,’ orbiting the red planet, with hopes to launch within ten years

The SLS is intended to send humans to ‘deep-space’ destinations such as Mars and the moon; it could send humans to Mars in the 2030s.

Lockheed Martin has plans for Orion even beyond the EM-1 and EM-2 missions.

The firm revealed this fall that it will set up a ‘Mars base camp,’ orbiting the red planet, with hopes to launch within ten years.

Using NASA’s Orion spacecraft as the command deck, the orbiting outpost could give astronauts the ability to operate rovers and drones on the surface in real time, helping us better understand the Red Planet and plan for manned missions.