NASA Confirms Artemis II Heat Shield Held to 9 Char-Loss Sites
Updated
Updated · Ars Technica · Sep 1
NASA Confirms Artemis II Heat Shield Held to 9 Char-Loss Sites
1 articles · Updated · Ars Technica · Sep 1
Summary
Nine char-loss sites were found on Artemis II’s Orion heat shield, a result NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel called “highly satisfying” after reviewing postflight data at Ames Research Center.
The finding addresses the mission’s biggest technical concern because Artemis I in 2022 logged more than 100 char-loss sites, some deeper than 1 inch, during reentry.
NASA had kept the Artemis II heat shield design unchanged despite that earlier damage and instead modified the spacecraft’s reentry trajectory before the crewed lunar flyby this spring.
The improved performance supports confidence in Orion for future Artemis lunar missions after Artemis II’s crew safely splashed down in the Pacific following its trip around the Moon.
Artemis III will introduce a revised shield material, but could fixing the trapped-gas problem trigger dangerous new vulnerabilities during atmospheric reentry?
NASA saved the Artemis II crew by altering their reentry path, but will this trajectory workaround limit future deep-space return missions?