Before NASA’s Artemis II take a look at flight launches a crew of 4 astronauts across the Moon and again, astronauts and groups on the bottom at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, are coaching for various situations that might happen on launch day.
On Aug. 11 and 12, groups with the company’s Exploration Ground Systems Program together with NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, practiced launch day operations if launch happens at evening. They simulated placing their spacesuits on and driving to the launch pad in addition to emergency procedures they might use within the unlikely occasion of an emergency in the course of the launch countdown requiring them to evacuate the launch pad.
During the primary nighttime state of affairs, the crew traversed the nine-mile journey from crew quarters to Launch Complex 39B. Once the crew arrived, groups declared a “scrub” and the astronauts headed again to crew quarters like they might within the occasion of their launch being postponed. The take a look at ensures each the crew and floor groups at Kennedy are ready and perceive the timeline of their occasions for launch day. Practicing the state of affairs additionally enhances a September 2023 daylight model of the take a look at.
On August 12, groups accomplished 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, the place their Moon rocket is being assembled on the cellular launcher. Once inside, the crew went up the cellular launcher to the White Room within the crew entry arm – the realm the place the crew enters and exits their Orion spacecraft.
From there, groups went by totally different emergency situations with the astronauts, together with training utilizing emergency egress baskets whereas on the bottom within the VAB.
During an actual emergency, personnel will use the hampers, that are suspended on a observe cable that connects the cellular launcher to the perimeter of the pad.
The group then headed to the terminus space at Launch Complex 39B, the situation on the perimeter of the launch pad the place the hampers will come to a cease within the occasion of an emergency. Once there, armored emergency response automobiles drove the group away to a delegated protected website areas at Kennedy.
Teams can have one other alternative to apply totally different launch day situations with the Artemis II crew throughout a countdown demonstration take a look at scheduled for later this 12 months. Through the Artemis marketing campaign, NASA will ship astronauts to discover the Moon for scientific discovery, financial advantages, and to construct the inspiration for the primary crewed missions to Mars – for the good thing about all.