Because the engine launch was so successful, NASA passed up the opportunity to do a “corrective” burn on Friday.
During the daily briefing with reporters, NASA officials had almost no major problems. Orion program manager Howard Hu said NASA is tracking the problem with the helium system that pressurizes Orion’s service module’s propulsion system to deliver fuel and oxidizer to the engine. However, he said, Orion no longer needs to use this helium regulator for the rest of the mission, and the backup system is working as intended.
Other minor issues
There are also some “false alarms” from various environmental sensors in the cabin. However, Hu said these are not a threat to the crew at all, but rather reflect the conservative limits set for these systems. He described it as a “study” that will be adapted to the Artemis III mission, which could begin flying next year.
Another view of Earth as seen from Orion.
Credit: NASA
Another view of Earth as seen from Orion.
Credit: NASA
The only other real problem the crew faced was the cabin temperatures, which the astronauts described as a bit chilly overnight. One of the mission’s flight directors, Judd Frieling, said the crew started out with temperatures in the mid-70s, but after several “projectile heaters” were turned off, it cooled by about 10°F. Cabin temperature is affected by a number of factors, and flight controllers were able to adjust the cabin atmosphere to a more comfortable level.
Similarly, the humidity level was slightly below the optimal level for devices that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Frieling said these scrubbers work best in high humidity, and the crew was able to find a comfortable humidity level between “desert dry” and “Houston humidity”.
So the crew is comfortable because they’ve flown farther from Earth than anyone else in half a century.
