Artemis II Orion service and crew modules slotted together at last

NASA is confirming that the Orion crew and service module for the Artemis II mission were successfully joined together. The actual event happened last Thursday at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, after months of hardware installations and tests, NASA said last night. The module integration paves the way for a power-up test, …

[KittenHuffer]

To boldly go .....

..... where someone has already gone before.

The sad thing is that the people who actually get to land on the Moon were not alive the last time that someone else walked there.

[Jan 0]

Is the minivan an approved Reg unit of volume?

Is that a British Mini Van or a USA minivan? How many grapefruits?

Could it **bring back our Dabsy**7?

[Flocke Kroes]

Re: Is the minivan an approved Reg unit of volume?

I was more concerned by the imperial to metric conversion errors.

[Atomic Duetto]

Re: Is the minivan an approved Reg unit of volume?

Yep, two minivans with nine thousand three hundred and thirty three cubic metres of internal space (1,934m3) sounds suspiciously more like a TARDIS.

Unless they confused it with a pair of Starship (payload est. 1,000m3 ?) which are likely cheaper (?) and reusable (eventually/allegedly/don’t hold your breath). They could take the Orion crew module as carry on

Luckily it’s not the Mars Climate Orbiter

[MyffyW]

Re: Is the minivan an approved Reg unit of volume?

Agree, I think somebody at the El Reg eyrie needs to check their Maths. 9000m3 is positively roomy :-)

[SW]

Re: Is the minivan an approved Reg unit of volume?

I expect it's using the European convention on numbering which has the comma in place of the decimal point. Still catches me out and i live in the EU

[Eclectic Man]

Excited

I remember watching Neil Armstrong step onto the lunar surface in 1969. I had been allowed to stay up especially, and had a bed made up for me on the sofa in the lounge. Watched it all, turned off the TV and went to sleep. I do hope I get to see the next Moon landing.

Good luck to all concerned.

[My other car WAS an IAV Stryker]

Per person growth (with math)

330 ft^3 / 4 people = 82.5 ft^3 per person

210 ft^3 / 3 people = 70 ft^3 per person

82.5/70 ~ 118%, easily rounded to (i.e.: marketed as) "almost 20% more space per person," which I'm sure is appreciated by the future crew.

[Lurko]

Re: Per person growth (with math)

Even with that extra 20%, an SBD will still be very effective.

I wonder how long the filtration systems will take to scrub the warming aroma of a well crafted air biscuit? One that's built on a good foundation giving notes of cabbage, beef and egg, ideally overlaid with a hint of butyric acid to add the important acrid characteristic that makes such artifice memorable.

[imanidiot]

Re: Per person growth (with math)

Given that the Apollo service module/capsule was oft referred to as "the mens room" (for it's aroma, not just that it held 3 gents) I suspect there's not much a filtration system can do if you have 4 people crammed into that small of a space.

[Neil Barnes]

Re: Per person growth (with math)

"almost 20% more space per person,"

Yabbut, how much bigger is the average astronaut than fifty years ago?

[CowHorseFrog]

Re: Per person growth (with math)

So they can take an extra half step before hitting a wall ?

[GeorgeWhyte]

33 Engines seems like a lot. Very heavy! I would like to see some schematics, pictures etc. I can’t see how this would travel quarter of a million miles and back. With my 1997 f150 I only get 14 miles to the gallon. So a rough calculation my f150 would petter out before leaving earths atmosphere. I might need to turn my ac off….