KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – A new report this month from the NASA Office of Inspector General raises concerns about the capsule the space agency wants to use to send astronauts around the moon in just a year.
The report comes as the Space Coast awaits another critical test flight for a different space vehicle, Boeing’s Starliner.
On May 17, Starliner could become just the sixth new spacecraft in NASA’s history to fly astronauts.
Then in September 2025, Orion could become the seventh during the Artemis II mission.
Like Starliner, Artemis has been very delayed too.
Pictured in the new inspector general’s report is the damage to the Orion capsule’s heat shield from reentry during Artemis I in 2022.
The divots look like potholes.
Last week, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson addressed the heat shield when answering Congress’ questions about the moon program.
“Because of various hardware issues, the Artemis II mission is now delayed until September of 2025,” said Rep. Dale Strong (R-Alabama).
“We’re going to make sure that that heat shield is functioning as it should be because they are coming in hot and fast. They’re coming in at Mach 32 and it’s 5,000 degrees,” Nelson responded.
NASA says it still hasn’t figured out what caused parts of Orion’s charred heat shield to crack and chip away.
On the other hand, for Starliner’s mission, United Launch Alliance is replacing the valve blamed for calling off Monday’s countdown.
Two weeks ago, when astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams arrived at Kennedy Space Center, Wilmore talked about his confidence in the Atlas V rocket.
That’s where the bad valve was discovered Monday night.
“There is not another rocket that I’d want to fly on,” Wilmore said. “The ULA team has done amazing, miraculous things with their rocket to make it human-rated.”
Starliner’s next launch attempt continues to be on schedule for 6:16 next Friday night.
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