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NASA / Glenn Benson

NASA’s Artemis II Orion Service Module Buttoned Up for Launch (News Release)

Technicians with NASA and Lockheed Martin fitted three spacecraft adapter jettison fairing panels onto the service module of the agency’s Orion’s spacecraft. The operation was completed on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The European-built service module is the powerhouse that will propel the spacecraft to the Moon. Its four solar array wings were installed to its exterior in early March. The latest addition of fairing panels on Orion’s service module will protect the solar array wings, shielding them from the heat, wind, and acoustics of launch and ascent, and also help redistribute the load between Orion and the massive thrust of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket during liftoff and ascent.

Once Orion is above the atmosphere, the three fairing panels will separate from the service module, allowing the wings to unfurl. In addition to power, the service module will provide propulsion and life support including thermal control, air and water for the Artemis II test flight, NASA’s first mission with crew under the Artemis campaign that will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, as well as CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a 10-day journey around the Moon.

Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars – for the benefit of all.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / Glenn Benson