Launching atop NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, Orion will carry four astronauts to lunar orbit and safely return them to Earth on Artemis missions. The Artemis II test flight will be NASA’s first mission with crew under Artemis. Astronauts on their first flight aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft will confirm all of the spacecraft’s systems operate as designed with crew aboard in the actual environment of deep space.
Orion is built by NASA and prime contractor Lockheed Martin. More than just a crew module, Orion has a launch abort system to keep astronauts safe if an emergency happens during launch, and a European-built service module, which is the powerhouse that fuels and propels Orion and keeps astronauts alive with water, oxygen, power, and temperature control.
On May 1, 2025, Lockheed Martin formally delivered the Orion spacecraft for Artemis II, keeping that mission on track for a launch in early 2026. The spacecraft is now the responsibility of the Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) program.
NASA’s investigation into unexpected loss of char layer pieces from the spacecraft’s heat shield during Artemis I concluded this spring. Teams have taken a methodical approach to understand the issue, including extensive sampling of the heat shield, testing, and review of data from sensors and imagery.
In this interview with Debbie Korth, Orion Deputy Program Manager, NASA Johnson Space Center, learn more about the lessons learned from the first mission, improvements, and the key milestones the Orion team is working on to achieve this year.
Tech Briefs: Why is it important for humanity to return to the Moon and how does the Artemis program fit into the broader goal of space exploration?
Debbie Korth: It is important to return to the Moon for so many reasons! Through the Artemis campaign, NASA is exploring the Moon to maintain American leadership in human exploration, inspire the Artemis Generation, advance science, enable a lunar economy, expand our global alliances, and prepare for future human journeys to Mars for the benefit of all.
Tech Briefs: What are the key technological improvements in Orion compared to past crewed spacecraft like Apollo’s command module?
Korth: In summary, the Orion spacecraft is a larger and much more capable spacecraft, which is necessary to enable long-duration and flexibility in the space around the Moon. At the system level, there are significant differences between Orion and Apollo to accommodate larger crews and longer missions. While Apollo was designed to transport three crew members for 14 days, Orion can transport up to four crew for 21 days, with 60 percent more habitable volume than Apollo. Solar arrays (versus fuel cells) and regenerative environmental control and life support systems (versus consumable items) enable more power and environmental control capabilities needed for the longer mission durations.
Orion has more than 1,200 sensors, and the crew module has a glass cockpit with screens and user interfaces reflective of our digital age, rather than Apollo’s analog inputs and outputs. Orion capitalizes on decades of computing advancements. Orion’s guidance, navigation, and control system comprises flight computers, displays and controls, optic measurement, and advanced software. Compared to Apollo’s single flight computer, Orion has two simultaneously operating redundant flight computers that each include two redundant computer modules, giving it a total of four redundant systems. In addition, just one of Orion’s redundant computers that has only 75 percent the weight of the solo computer aboard Apollo, has 128,000 times more memory, and is 20,000 times faster.
Orion’s computing redundancies improve safety and also improve data collection and processing power. Apollo’s flight software was only capable of calculating the spacecraft’s trajectory; it would not adjust it in real-time in space based on sensor input, as Orion can. In contrast to the manual operation necessary on Apollo, Orion’s software-driven avionics and other computers provide situational awareness and autonomy. Orion automates functions, thereby freeing astronauts for other tasks, as they will not have to frequently monitor spacecraft systems and verify their trajectory.
Orion is also designed with many more crew comforts to support longer duration spaceflight, such as a galley for preparing meals and a functional waste management system (toilet). Crew exercise was very difficult inside Apollo, as the environmental control system was not designed to compensate for crew workouts. However, Orion provides full exercise capability via a type of rowing/resistive exercise machine and is also designed to maximize available privacy and mitigate noise and odors, enabling longer, healthier, and more hygienic missions.
Tech Briefs: Orion’s first flight test around the Moon during the Artemis I mission was a major accomplishment for NASA. What did the agency learn from it?
Korth: Artemis I provided an opportunity to check out our integrated systems in a deep space lunar orbit, intentionally stressing those systems to ensure crew can safely fly aboard on Artemis II and subsequent missions. The mission demonstrated and evaluated structures, thermal protection, power, propulsion, guidance, navigation and control, and other critical systems, sub-systems, and procedures, from countdown through liftoff and ascent, beyond the far side of the Moon, through high-heat and high-speed return to Earth, and recovery after splashdown.
Orion exceeded performance expectations as the mission team and flight controllers accomplished 161 test objectives, including 20 added mid-flight, to fully demonstrate every aspect of the spacecraft. Mission data shows the European-built service module generated about 20 percent more power than initial expectations and the spacecraft consumed about 25 percent less power than predicted. All the spacecraft’s dynamic separation events, which involved 375 pyrotechnic devices, were completed without issue. Orion demonstrated a parachute-assisted splashdown slowing down from nearly 25,000 mph to 16 mph prior to splashing down within 2.4 miles of the target.
When Orion returned to Earth, engineers saw unexpected variations across its heat shield. Some of the charred material had broken off. If a crew had been aboard, they would’ve remained safe, but we needed to understand the problem.
Our Orion heat shield investigation team determined the root cause of the char loss. The heat shield team was given the necessary time to investigate every possible cause, and our multidisciplinary team worked to ensure we fully understood the phenomenon and the next steps to mitigate this issue for future missions. This included removing approximately 200 samples of Avcoat, the material designed to burn away, or ablate, from the Artemis I heat shield for analysis and inspection at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. There also were eight separate post-flight thermal test campaigns to support the root cause analysis, with the teams completing 121 individual tests at facilities with unique capabilities across the country. NASA also stood up an independent review team to conduct an extensive review of the agency’s investigation process, findings, and results.
Engineers determined gases generated inside the heat shield’s outer material were not able to vent and dissipate as expected, allowing pressure to build up and cracking to occur. We now know the permeability of Avcoat is a key parameter to avoid or minimize char loss, and we have the right information to assure crew safety and improve performance of future Artemis heat shields.
The data from our investigation has given us confidence we can use the heat shield for Artemis II, by modifying the trajectory and by shortening how far Orion will fly between when it enters Earth’s atmosphere and splashes down in the Pacific Ocean. This will ensure Orion spends a safe amount of time in the temperature range in which the Artemis I heat shield phenomenon occurred. Engineers are assembling and integrating the heat shield based off the lessons learned from Artemis I.
Tech Briefs: What safety measures are built into Orion to ensure astronaut safety during lunar missions?
Korth: The health and safety of astronauts is the priority at every step for Artemis mission designs. Redundancy is built into Orion as a safety measure across numerous systems. As examples, Orion has two flight computers; simultaneously operating flight computers that each include two redundant modules, as well as a back-up flight software system; the Service Module propulsion auxiliary engines serve as the back-up to the main engine in the event of an anomaly, and 24 reaction control system engines where normally only 12 are used and the other 12 are back-up.
The advanced heat shield protects the crew module and the astronauts from extreme temperatures (5000 °F) seen during high-speed returns from the Moon. The environmental control and life support system maintains the spacecraft’s temperature, humidity, and pressure, and detects when the enclosed environment is compromised. The system can maintain a positive pressure, breathable atmosphere, hydration/nutrition and cooling for astronauts wearing the Orion Crew Survival System suit for up to six days in the event of a loss of cabin pressure. Orion stowage compartments can be used as a crew radiation shelter in the event of any solar flare events. The launch abort system is designed to carry the crew module away to a safe location in the event of a rocket failure during launch or ascent.
Tech Briefs: What is the function of the spacecraft adapter jettison fairing panels installed recently on the Orion service module and how do they contribute to its performance during launch and ascent?
Korth: The spacecraft adapter jettison fairing panels on Orion’s service module will protect the solar array wings, shielding them from the heat, wind, and acoustics of launch and ascent, and help redistribute the load between Orion and the massive thrust of the SLS rocket during liftoff and ascent. Once the spacecraft is above the atmosphere, the three fairing panels will separate from the service module, allowing the solar arrays to be deployed and power most of the rest of the mission.
Tech Briefs: This will be NASA’s first crewed mission to the Moon under the Artemis program. What kind of training is the crew undergoing?
Korth: NASA teams have developed robust plans to simulate every aspect of the mission, including the countdown, in-flight operations, entry, and recovery, to practice procedures. The Artemis II crew began their training for their flight around Moon in June 2023. Most of the crew’s spacecraft training takes place at Johnson Space Center in Houston, where we have an Orion simulator and a mockup of the crew module to help the crew understand placement and orientation of what’s inside. Experts from NASA’s Flight Operations Directorate have been training them on daily operations in space and mission phases, and the crew has been practicing how to operate Orion’s crew displays, spacecraft controls, and audio and imagery systems.
Tech Briefs: What are the key milestones the Orion team is working to achieve this year?
Korth: After leaving the factory (in the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida), the Artemis II spacecraft will move through other Kennedy facilities to be fueled, have all commodities loaded, be integrated with the launch abort system, and finally stacked on top of the SLS rocket in the Vehicle Assembly Building. Several integrated tests are planned throughout this flow.
This article was written by Chitra Sethi, Editorial Director, SAE Media Group. For more information, visit here .
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