WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — You can experience the end to the historic Artemis II mission with others. The Cosmosphere is hosting a watch party for the splashdown Friday night.
The Orion spacecraft is expected to land off the coast of San Diego shortly after 7 p.m. But, just as NASA had to wait for a safe window to send the crew to space, weather could delay their return for up to two days.
Artemis II reentry: Will a sonic boom be heard?
This is one of the most dangerous points of the mission. Once Orion reenters Earth’s atmosphere, the fall will take less than 15 minutes. The spacecraft will be exposed to temperatures above 5,000 degrees.
All eyes will be on the spacecraft’s heat shieldtonight because it was flawed when NASA tested this technology with the unmanned Artemis I mission. The agency’s engineers said they identified the problem in the venting system that is supposed to alleviate pressure and keep the shield from cracking. They altered the design for Artemis II.
Artemis II astronauts describe their lunar voyage as surreal and profound ahead of Earth return
Within two hours of Orion’s splashdown, the crew will be picked up by Navy sailors on the USS John P. Murtha. The astronauts will have post-mission medical evaluations before they are flown to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston…