16.08.2025
Artemis II Crew Train for Night Launch Scenarios at Kennedy Space Center
Before NASA’s Artemis II test flight launches a crew of four astronauts around the Moon and back, astronauts and teams on the ground at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, are training for different scenarios that could take place on launch day.
On Aug. 11 and 12, teams with the agency’s Exploration Ground Systems Program along with NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, practiced launch day operations if launch occurs at night. They simulated putting their spacesuits on and driving to the launch pad as well as emergency procedures they would use in the unlikely event of an emergency during the launch countdown requiring them to evacuate the launch pad.
During the first nighttime scenario, the crew traversed the nine-mile journey from crew quarters to Launch Complex 39B. Once the crew arrived, teams declared a “scrub” and the astronauts headed back to crew quarters like they would in the event of their launch being postponed. The test ensures both the crew and ground teams at Kennedy are prepared and understand the timeline of their events for launch day. Practicing the scenario also complements a September 2023 daylight version of the test.
On August 12, teams completed an emergency egress system demonstration inside Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). The astronauts suited up and departed their crew quarters and headed to the VAB, where their Moon rocket is being assembled on the mobile launcher. Once inside, the crew went up the mobile launcher to the White Room in the crew access arm – the area where the crew enters and exits their Orion spacecraft.
From there, teams went through different emergency scenarios with the astronauts, including practicing using emergency egress baskets while on the ground in the VAB.
During a real emergency, personnel will use the baskets, which are suspended on a track cable that connects the mobile launcher to the perimeter of the pad.
The team then headed to the terminus area at Launch Complex 39B, the location at the perimeter of the launch pad where the baskets will come to a stop in the event of an emergency. Once there, armored emergency response vehicles drove the team away to a designated safe site locations at Kennedy.
Teams will have another opportunity to practice different launch day scenarios with the Artemis II crew during a countdown demonstration test scheduled for later this year. Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars – for the benefit of all.
Quelle: NASA
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Update: 21.08.2025
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NASA’s Final Piece of Artemis II Rocket Hardware Leaves Marshall
The final piece of Artemis II flight hardware for the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket departed NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Aug. 18, and will arrive at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida this week for integration with the rest of the rocket.
Built of lightweight aluminum at Marshall, the ring-shaped Orion stage adapter connects the interim cryogenic propulsion stage to the Orion spacecraft. A composite diaphragm within the ring acts as a barrier between Orion and the rest of the rocket, preventing gases – such as hydrogen – from entering the spacecraft. An auxiliary rendezvous target has been installed on the Artemis II Orion stage adapter for use by the astronauts during the planned proximity operations demonstration intended to test Orion’s handling capabilities.
The adapter was manufactured using friction stir welding in NASA Marshall’s Materials and Processes Laboratory. It’s the only piece of the SLS rocket built entirely by NASA engineers.
The adapter will also carry several CubeSats, which are small payloads containing science experiments and technology demonstrations intended to expand understanding of the space environment. Following separation from Orion, an avionics unit in the Orion stage adapter will send signals to release the payloads at pre-selected times. International partners South Korea, Germany, Argentina, and Saudi Arabia developed the four CubeSats aboard Artemis II.
As the Artemis II rocket is nearing completion at NASA Kennedy, teams continue work on flight hardware for Artemis III. Later this fall, NASA Marshall engineers will flip the third rocket’s Orion stage adapter and install the diaphragm.
Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.
Quelle: NASA