The apogee raise burn was successfully completed, continuing to fine tune the Orion spacecraft’s orbit around Earth. The ICPS (interim cryogenic propulsion stage) ignited its RL10 engine for a precisely timed burn that increased the highest point of the spacecraft’s orbit.
Ahead of the burn, the Artemis II crew began setting their spacecraft up for life in space. Among the tasks is a checkout of the toilet. During this operation, the crew called down to report a blinking fault light. The team on the ground is looking into what might be causing that issue and will be working with the crew to resolve it.
Proximity Operations Demonstration
The Artemis II crew will now begin preparations for the proximity operations demonstration. This demonstration will test the Orion spacecraft’s ability to manually maneuver relative to another spacecraft, the ICPS, after separation, using its onboard navigation sensors and reaction control thrusters. Before the demonstration, Orion will have planned communications handover from NASA’s Near Space Network to the Deep Space Network. These two networks work in tandem to support Orion from the launch pad, around the Moon, and back to Earth.
During the approximately 70-minute proximity operations demonstration, the crew will command the Orion spacecraft, named Integrity, through a series of moves using the detached upper stage of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket as a mark. The ICPS includes an approximately two-foot target that will be used to evaluate how Orion flies with astronauts at the controls.
As the spacecraft and its crew move away, the spacecraft will perform an automated backflip to turn around and face the stage. At approximately 300 feet away, Orion will stop its relative motion. The crew will take control and use the translational and rotational hand controllers and displ …