Leonard David's INSIDE OUTER SPACE

High-speed return from lunar distance, the thermal protection system of Orion’s crew module must endure blistering temperatures to keep crew members safe. Measuring 16.5 feet in diameter, Orion’s heat shield is the largest of its kind developed for missions carrying astronauts.
Image credit: NASA)

Earlier this year, NASA announced it had pushed out to 2025 the Artemis II swingby of the Moon by a crew – a practice run to prepare for a follow-on Artemis III “rebooting” of Earth’s nearby celestial companion with humans.

One reason cited for the delay was getting to the bottom of re-entry heat shield data from the first Orion capsule flight.

Arc Jet Complex at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley has been used to study unexpected heat shield issues found after Orion capsule’s Artemis I flight in 2022.
Image credit: NASA Ames Research Center

The capsule’s multi-week fling out beyond the Moon and back to terra firma in 2022 came to full-stop on December 11 of that year, with the Orion capsule parachuting into Pacific Ocean waters off Baja California.

Orion heat shield features ablative material, called Avcoat.
Image credit: Lockheed Martin

There has been an aggressive look-see at the results from the shakeout cruise of the uncrewed Orion capsule on its Artemis I flight – particularly, how the craft’s heat shield performed.

Go to my new Space.com story – “NASA still investigating Orion heat shield issues from Artemis 1 moon mission – The landmark 2022 moon mission was a success, but questions remain about how Orion’s heat shield performed” – at:

https://www.space.com/nasa-investigate-orion-heat-shield-artemis-1-mission