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The Orion spacecraft will undergo a test run in the vacuum of space without leaving Earth

The spacecraft will now undergo a series of suitability tests in an empty chamber. In the tests, the spacecraft will be in a near-vacuum environment by expelling air and creating a space where the pressure is very low. The result is the absence of an atmosphere, similar to the environment in which the spacecraft will be in future lunar missions

Technicians used a 30-ton crane to move the Orion spacecraft from the final assembly and systems testing chamber to the altitude chamber to undergo comprehensive leak testing and performance verification of the subsystems. Credit: NASA
Technicians used a 30-ton crane to move the Orion spacecraft from the final assembly and systems testing chamber to the altitude chamber to undergo comprehensive leak testing and performance verification of the subsystems. Credit: NASA

NASA's Orion spacecraft for the Artemis 2 mission was removed from the final assembly and systems test bay on June 28 inside the Neil Armstrong Checkout and Operations Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The integrated spacecraft underwent final rounds of testing and assembly, including end-to-end performance verification of its subsystems and a leak test of the propulsion systems.

A 30-ton crane brought Orion back to the recently renovated altitude room where she underwent electromagnetic tests. The spacecraft will now undergo a series of suitability tests in an empty chamber. In the tests the spacecraft will be in a near vacuum environment by expelling air and creating a space where the pressure is very low. The result is the absence of an atmosphere, similar to the environment in which the spacecraft will be in future lunar missions.

The tests will last about a week, and technicians will collect data from the spacecraft's crew and service compartments and the environmental control and life support system to test the function of the spacesuits. The data collected in these tests will be used to train the spacecraft to safely fly the Artemis 2 astronauts in the harsh environment of space.

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