Orion preps for final exams

PERKINS TWP. — Since arriving to Erie County about a month ago, the actual spacecraft destined for deep-space exploration — and, maybe even one day, a potential landing on Mars — keeps getting straight A's on all of its exams.Regarding Orion, part of the Artemis 1 initiative, crews continue plugging away on preliminary tasks before full-scale testing occurs at the NASA Plum Brook Station."We've completed all of the pre-test assembly, instrumentation and checkouts," NASA spokesman Jimi Russell said. "They'll continue with functional checks on the spacecraft this week."The prolific nature of NASA Plum BrookFor almost five years now, Plum Brook represents a primary testing hub for activities related to Orion because of its unrivaled experimental chambers.Up until this past month, and with a test flight article, or a spacecraft replica, engineers previously analyzed Orion's capabilities with solar power, noise, temperatures and pyro shocks, which ensured it could separate when necessary.Through calculations received and conclusions learned on this model, workers integrated the information with Orion's actual spacecraft when it was elsewhere.So what's happening in the near future with Orion's actual spacecraft now at Plum Brook?The two major ones upcoming sometime in 2020:• Thermal vacuum testing; Plum Brook houses the world's largest vacuum chamber, which determines if spacecraft can withstand extreme temperatures — ranging from minus 250 degrees to 170 degrees — found in space."We will pull the spacecraft out of the Thermal Vacuum Chamber and reconfigure both the spacecraft instrumentation and the chamber itself," said Nicole Smith, the NASA project manager overseeing Orion's testing at Plum Brook.• Electromagnetic interference and compatibility tests"We want to make sure all the electronics perform to their best capabilities and perform well without interfering with one another," Smith said.Setting the stage for space explorationData obtained through testing helps NASA personnel determine and understand Orion's effectiveness before several scheduled launches occur."All of this testing is to ensure the spacecraft systems operate as they were designed, which will ultimately lead to the success of Artemis I in 2020," said Smith, adding it'll occur from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Another date of note, as recently publicized by NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine: As part of the Artemis program, he wants astronauts, both men and women, to land on the moon by 2024. No woman has landed on the moon before. And this would represent NASA's first trip to the moon since 1972, when the last Apollo mission occurred.NASA officials also envision the Artemis I initiative setting a foundation for astronauts to, one day, land on Mars.None of this could happen, they said, without Plum Brook's testing chambers and the subsequent work occurring at the Erie County base.Reach reporter Andy Ouriel at ouriel@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @AndyOuriel.The Orion spacecraft sits in the world's largest thermal vacuum chamber inside the NASA Plum Brook Station in Erie County. Plum Brook houses the world's largest vacuum chamber, which determines if spacecraft can withstand extreme temperatures — ranging from minus 250 degrees to 170 degrees — found in spaceOrion, part of the Artemis 1 initiative, arrived to the NASA Plum Brook Station in Erie County about a month ago. Through Orion, NASA personnel wants astronauts to land on the moon by 2024 and possibly Mars sometime afterward.