Mary-Louise Hoffman
The Lockheed Martin-built Orion spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at an Ohio-based NASA remote testing facility Tuesday to undergo a series of space environment simulation tests.
NASA said Tuesday its Super Guppy aircraft carried Orion from Kennedy Space Center in Florida to Mansfield Lahm Airport in Ohio where a flatbed trailer platform will ship the packaged hardware to the Plum Brook Station.
Lockheed, Airbus and the U.S. and European space agencies will collaborate on a two-phase testing effort. The thermal test will occur over a 60-day period and the electromagnetic compatibility and interference test will last two weeks.
Technicians and engineers will subject the spaceship at temperature ranging from -250 to 300-degree Fahrenheit as well as evaluate the performance of its electronics.
Airbus said it is building the European Service Module for NASA's Orion program. The module will consist of power, propulsion, water and air systems for the crew along with a spacecraft thermal control system.
NASA will return the hardware to the Kennedy facility after the tests are completed in Ohio.
The team will integrate Orion and the Space Launch System rocket for the initial Artemis mission that is scheduled to take place in late 2020.
