The Orion crew vehicle will launch on top of NASA’s new rocket called Space Launch System, or SLS. The first launch will blast off in 2018.
On this first flight of SLS known as Exploration Mission-1, the Orion crew vehicle will fly tens of thousands of miles beyond the moon and return to Earth. This will be further into space than any spacecraft designed for humans will have ever traveled.
There won’t be humans on the first integrated flight of the crew capsule with SLS, but the missions that follow will be manned.
Over the summer, engineers performed almost one hundred tests on a very important component of Orion called the service module, which will be attached to the crew module.
The service module will supply power, propulsion and life support systems for the crew. Verifying that the service module can handle the forces it will experience during the mission is an important step on the way to the human exploration of deep space.
Orion service module vibration test. Image Credit: NASA
Where did the testing take place?
The service module test article underwent vibration testing at the Space Power Facility, part of Plum Brook Station in Ohio. The module was placed on the most powerful shaker system for spacecraft worldwide. As part of the tests, the service module was evaluated both with empty and full tanks.
The European Space Agency (ESA) supplied the service module for testing and will send the actual flight unit to the U.S. in 2017.
What’s next? This test article will undergo simulations of what it will be like to separate from the rocket.
SLS and Orion are key to the future of deep space exploration and NASA’s Journey to Mars. Learn more about the new capsule to take humans into deep space at NASA.gov.