Latest news with #Artemis2
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Space photo of the day for May 7, 2025
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. NASA and Lockheed Martin officials pose together during a handover ceremony for the Artemis 2 Orion spacecraft at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 1, 2025. | Credit: NASA/Cory S. Huston With the completion of its assembly and testing of the first Orion spacecraft set to fly astronauts to the moon, Lockheed Martin transferred possession of the Artemis 2 capsule to NASA's Exploration Ground Systems team. What is it? A modern spacecraft deserves a modern set of keys, so when it came time to hand over the Artemis 2 spacecraft to NASA, Lockheed Martin presented the space agency's Exploration Ground Systems team with a ceremonial enlarged key fob, complete with Artemis 2 mission patch key ring dongle. From the left to right: Kelvin Manning, acting director of NASA's Kennedy Space Center; Shawn Quinn, Exploration Ground Systems program manager; Lakiesha Hawkins, assistant deputy associate administrator, Moon to Mars Program office; Howard Hu, Orion program manager; Debbie Korth, Orion deputy program manager. Where is it? The May 1, 2025, handover ceremony took place inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Artemis 2 Orion spacecraft was then moved to the Multi-Payload Processing Facility three days later to undergo fueling and processing for prelaunch operations. Why is it amazing? Beyond the fun fob, the Artemis 2 Orion is the first spacecraft in more than 50 years to begin launch preparations to fly astronauts to the moon. The mission will see NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch together with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen fly around the moon, possibly flying further away from Earth than any human has ever done so. "This achievement is a testament to our employees and suppliers who have worked tirelessly to get us to this important milestone," said Kirk Shireman, vice president of Human Space Exploration and Orion program manager at Lockheed Martin, in a statement. "The Orion spacecraft completion for Artemis 2 is a major step forward in our nation's efforts to develop a long-term lunar presence." "It's exciting to think that soon, humans will see the Earth rise over the lunar horizon from our vehicle," he said. Want to know more? You can read more about the Artemis 2 Orion spacecraft hand over to NASA and the latest about the assembly of the mission's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. You can also read about the mission's patch as reproduced as part of the ceremonial key fob.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA just got the Orion spacecraft that will fly astronauts around the moon on Artemis 2 in 2026
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The Orion spacecraft for NASA's Artemis 2 astronaut mission was officially handed over to NASA for launch processing on May 1, 2025. | Credit: Lockheed Martin The next spacecraft to fly humans around the moon has been delivered to the only space agency on Earth to ever successfully fly astronauts to our nearest celestial neighbor. Orion, the capsule that will carry the Artemis 2 astronauts on a mission around the moon and back, has been officially handed over to NASA. The agency took possession of Orion from the spacecraft's main contractor, Lockheed Martin, on Thursday (May 1), according to a statement from the company. Now, Orion will be transported to the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. It will undergo final tests and processing ahead of incorporation with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that will send the spacecraft and its crew into orbit. SLS is currently being stacked inside NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at KSC, which will the last stop for both the rocket and Orion before rolling out to the launch pad. SLS's interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) was transported to the VAB on April 15, NASA said in a post last month. In addition to validating Orion's development tests and checkouts, Lockheed Martin was responsible for upgrading the life support and other systems essential to operate the capsule with a crew aboard, including audio communications, an exercise machine and the spacecraft's launch abort system. Artemis 2 is scheduled to launch in early 2026. It will fly NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch as well as Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen on a free return trajectory aboard Orion. Their mission will fly them out of Earth orbit toward the moon, which Orion will slingshot around and then come back home. "The Orion spacecraft completion for Artemis 2 is a major step forward in our nation's efforts to develop a long-term lunar presence," Kirk Shireman, Lockheed Martin's vice president of Human Space Exploration, said in the statement. RELATED STORIES: — NASA continues stacking its giant Artemis 2 SLS moon rocket (photos) — 'We're pushing the limits:' Artemis 2 backup astronaut on 2025 round-the-moon mission (exclusive) — Astronauts won't walk on the moon until 2026 after NASA delays next 2 Artemis missions As its name suggests, Artemis 2 will be the second mission of the Artemis program, which aims to establish a permanent outpost on the moon as a springboard toward a crewed mission to Mars. Artemis 1 successfully sent an uncrewed Orion to lunar orbit and back in late 2022. NASA is currently targeting 2027 for the launch of Artemis 3, which will be the first mission to land astronauts on the moon since 1972. Artemis 2 and Artemis 3 had been expected to launch this year and next, respectively, but damage to Orion's heat shield during atmospheric entry at the end of Artemis 1 forced NASA to delay each by more than a year.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
NASA's Artemis 2 moon rocket gets 2nd stage even as Trump tries to scrap Space Launch System (photos)
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The ICPS is lowered onto SLS's stage adapter inside the VAB, May 1, 2025. | Credit: NASA The Artemis 2 megarocket set to launch NASA's next astronauts to the moon in 2026 is almost completely assembled. The giant Space Launch System (SLS) rocket continues to grow inside the NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Technicians at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), in Florida, stacked the rocket's second stage onto the launch vehicle Thursday (May 1). The Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) is responsible for carrying the Orion spacecraft and crew the rest of the way into orbit around the Earth, and then sending them on their way to the moon. This SLS rocket will launch the Artemis 2 mission, with NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch as well as Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. The quartet are flying the second installment of NASA's Artemis program, which aims to establish a permanent presence on the moon as a technology springboard to one day send humans to Mars. The next mission, Artemis 3, would then deliver astronauts to the moon with the help of a Starship lander in 2027. That could be the last SLS rocket to fly, though. The Trump administration proposed canceling the SLS and Orion program after Artemis 3 in its 2026 budget proposal on Friday (May 2). Artemis 2 is scheduled to launch sometime in early 2026 — more than three years after the launch of Artemis 1, in November 2022. Artemis 1 sent an uncrewed Orion spacecraft into lunar orbit on a mission that lasted about 25 days. Orion and crew won't enter lunar orbit for Artemis 2, but they will fly around the moon. Rather than enter orbit, the ICPS will steer Orion and the Artemis 2 crew out of Earth orbit into a free-return trajectory around the moon. This slingshots the spacecraft around the lunar far-side on a course directly back to Earth. Unexpected damage to Orion's heat shield caused by atmospheric reentry during Artemis 1 is to blame for the long wait time between Artemis 1 and Artemis 2. That damage delayed Artemis 2 and Artemis 3 by more than a year each. Artemis 3 is currently targeted for 2027, and will carry the first astronauts to land on the moon since the Apollo missions. Image 1 of 2 a large section of a rocket is hoisted in a factory Image 2 of 2 a large section of a rocket is hoisted in a factory RELATED STORIES: — NASA begins stacking SLS rocket for Artemis 2 moon mission (photos) — 'We're pushing the limits:' Artemis 2 backup astronaut on 2025 round-the-moon mission (exclusive) — Astronauts won't walk on the moon until 2026 after NASA delays next 2 Artemis missions The ICPS arrived at the VAB last month. Now, NASA has shared photos of the ICPS being stacked inside the VAB on X, showcasing the stage as it was hoisted from the warehouse floor and lowered into the SLS stage adapter. NASA also took deliver of Orion and its service module this week from the spacecraft's main contractor Lockheed Martin. Before it heads to the VAB for incorporation with SLS, Orion will be transferred KSC's Exploration Ground Systems for processing.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
It's alive! It's alive! Orion throws back its cover
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. NASA's Orion test article was exposed to launch abort-level acoustics prior to testing its forward bay cover's ability to jettison at the Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio. The cover is the last component of the spacecraft that must eject before parachutes deploy to ensure a safe landing. Although the setting might look like something out of a Mary Shelley novel or a noir film, it is actually a key test of NASA's next-generation space capsule in a state-of-the-art facility. Engineers and technicians from NASA and Lockheed Martin subjected the Orion environmental test article to the extreme conditions Orion may experience in a launch abort scenario, including the jettison of its forward bay cover, the last component that must eject before the parachutes deploy for a safe landing. The November 2024 test took place at the Space Environments Complex (SEC) at NASA's Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility (previously Plum Brook) in Sandusky, Ohio. The SEC houses the world's largest and most powerful space environment simulation facilities. The Reverberant Acoustic Test Facility (RATF), seen here, is the world's most powerful spacecraft acoustic test chamber. Before this Orion capsule entered tests in support of the Artemis 2 mission — the first planned flight to return astronauts to the moon since the Apollo program — and before it became an environmental test article, it flew to the moon and back as the Artemis 1 mission Orion crew module. Further, testing Orion at such high acoustic levels was a major milestone for the Artemis program. "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 2," said Michael See, ETA vehicle manager, Orion Program. "This is the first time we've been able to test a spacecraft on the ground in such an extreme abort-level acoustic environment." You can watch a video of the forward bay cover jettison test and read more about the trials at the Space Environments Complex. You can also read more about the Artemis 2 mission.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Tank for 1st Artemis touchdown on the moon
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. As NASA moves closer to returning the first astronauts to the moon since the Apollo program more than 50 years ago, progress is being made on the hardware that will send the next humans to the lunar surface. With all of the hardware in place in Florida for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that will launch the Artemis 2 crew around the moon in 2026, work is picking up on the next booster's core stage that will fly on Artemis 3, planned as the new program's first moon landing. The 130-foot-tall (40-meter) propellant tank is one of the five major elements that comprise the 212-foot-tall (65-meter) SLS core stage. The stage, along with its four RS-25 rocket engines, and side-mounted solid rocket boosters, will be used to launch the Artemis 3 Orion spacecraft and its crew to walk on the moon. Teams recently recently completed application of the thermal protection system and will now continue outfitting the liquid hydrogen tank with the final systems it needs to fly on the Artemis 3 mission. NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility is located in eastern New Orleans, Louisiana. Before serving as a factory for Artemis SLS core stage components, Michoud was used to assemble Apollo-era Saturn V rocket stages and external tanks for the 30-year space shuttle program. This marks another step forward before humans again take a step on the moon. The photo itself is amazing given how photographer Steven Seipel was able to capture the liquid hydrogen tank's reflection in a standing body of water as the hardware was moved to its next processing facility. You can read more about the Artemis 3 mission and the completion of other components for the SLS at Michoud.
