Orion could face months of delay following power unit failure

NASA's Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission is completing final assembly at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Engineers recently installed the three spacecraft jettison fairing panels to protect the European Service Module and the forward bay cover, which protects the upper part of Orion including its parachutes throughout its mission.

While powering up the spacecraft to prepare for the pressurization of the crew module uprighting system, which ensures the capsule is oriented upward after splashdown, engineers identified an issue with a redundant channel in a power and data unit (PDU) on Orion's crew module adapter.

The team is continuing with other closeout activities while troubleshooting the issue, including installation of temporary covers to ensure components are protected during ground processing and fit checks for bonded tile on the crew module side hatch.

Following a resolution of the issue, NASA will transfer Orion from the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building to the Multi-Payload Processing Facility where the spacecraft will undergo fueling ahead of stacking with the launch abort system. Check back at this blog for an update and adjusted dates for Orion's transfer.

Related Links
Artemis I
Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

Tweet

Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.

SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly

paypal only

SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once

credit card or paypal

I am Artemis: Alabama Native Shoots for the Moon with NASA Career
Huntsville AL (SPX) Nov 20, 2020
Hailing from Decatur, Alabama, Johnny Heflin, recently celebrated his 30th anniversary working with NASA, where he serves as the Space Launch System (SLS) liquid engines manager, at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. He oversees a team developing and testing the RS-25 and RL10 engines that will provide the power to send astronauts to the Moon on future Artemis missions. "My team will deliver high-performance engines to safely fly humans to the Moon," Heflin said. "We take both th ... read more