Power unit failure hits NASA's Orion spacecraft

In early November, engineers at Orion’s primary contractor, Lockheed Martin, found that a power component inside the spacecraft had failed,

A component of NASA’s Space Launch System in January as it was being prepared for a move from the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. (File Photo | AP)

WASHINGTON:  Engineers are trying to find a way to repair a failed power unit on NASA’s Orion spacecraft that is designed to take astronauts to deep space in the future, a media report said. In early November, engineers at Orion’s primary contractor, Lockheed Martin, found that a power component inside the spacecraft had failed,

The Verge reported, citing a review of an internal email and an internal PowerPoint presentation. Repairing the component may take “months”, said the report as it is not easy to repair the unit which is within one of the vehicle’s eight power and data units, or PDUs.

How the engineers handle the issue to the satisfaction of the space agency may play a role in determining if the capsule becomes ready for its first flight atop the Space Launch System, or SLS, rocket scheduled for November 2021. SLS and Orion, along with the human landing system and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, are NASA’s backbone for the Artemis programme which plans to land the first woman and next man on the lunar surface by 2024.