Closing out a 25-day voyage around the moon, NASA's Artemis 1 spacecraft closed in on Earth Saturday, on track for a 25,000-mph re-entry Sunday.
Closing out a 25-day voyage around the moon, NASA's Artemis 1 spacecraft closed in on Earth Saturday, on track for a 25,000-mph re-entry Sunday that will subject the unpiloted capsule to a hellish 5,000-degree inferno before splashdown off Baja California.
"There is no arc jet or aerothermal facility here on Earth capable of replicating hypersonic reentry with a heat shield of this size," he said."And it is a brand new heat shield design, and it is a safety-critical piece of equipment. It is designed to protect the spacecraft and ... so the heat shield needs to work."
The Orion spacecraft followed a trajectory that included a close lunar flyby and a subsequent engine firing to reach the planned"distant retrograde orbit" around the moon. After a half lap, the spacecraft's engine fired twice more to set up a second close flyby of the moon that, in turn, sent the capsule on its way back to Earth for a Sunday splashdown in the Pacific Ocean west of Baja California.
NASA originally planned to bring the ship down west of San Diego, but a predicted cold front bringing higher winds and rougher seas prompted mission managers to move the landing site south by about 350 miles. Splashdown is now expected south of Guadalupe Island some 200 miles west of Baja California.
Within a minute and a half of entry, atmospheric friction will generate temperatures across the heat shield reaching nearly 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit, enveloping the spacecraft in an electrically charged plasma that will block communications with flight controllers for about five minutes. An Orion mockup is hauled into the flooded well deck of a Navy amphibious dock vessel during training to prepare for Sunday's splashdown and recovery of the actual Artemis 1 spacecraft after its 1.4-million-mile test flight around the moon.Expected mission duration: 25 days 10 hours 52 minutes, covering 1.4 million miles since blastoff November 16.
Österreich Neuesten Nachrichten, Österreich Schlagzeilen
Similar News:Sie können auch ähnliche Nachrichten wie diese lesen, die wir aus anderen Nachrichtenquellen gesammelt haben.
NASA Artemis I – Flight Day 24: Orion Spacecraft Heads HomeOn Flight Day 24 of the Artemis I mission, NASA teams in Mission Control Houston conducted spacecraft system checks ahead of Orion’s planned splashdown on December 11. Meanwhile, the Exploration Ground Systems recovery team made its way toward the landing area off Mexico's Baja Coast near Guadalupe
Weiterlesen »
NASA Artemis I: Orion Will Attempt the First Skip Entry for a Human SpacecraftAs NASA’s Artemis I mission to the Moon draws to a close, the Orion spacecraft is on its way back to Earth, with the planned splashdown on Sunday, December 11, fast approaching. When Orion is nearing its return to Earth, it will attempt the first skip entry for a human spacecraft. This maneuver is d
Weiterlesen »
NASA rolls Artemis 1's huge launch tower off pad for repairs, upgrades (photos)The 355-foot-tall (108 meters) tower suffered some damage during Artemis 1's Nov. 16 launch.
Weiterlesen »
NASA Prepares for Orion Spacecraft Splashdown to Conclude Artemis I MissionThe agency will attempt to return part of the Orion spacecraft to Earth on Sunday, a maneuver that will expose the vehicle to heat approaching 5,000 degrees after a nearly monthlong journey.
Weiterlesen »
NASA drawing on Apollo to design Artemis moonwalkers' toolsApollo's considerable legacy is coming in handy.
Weiterlesen »