Jacobs supports Artemis I moon mission
December 22, 2022
By CCE
The consulting engineering firm is NASA's largest services contractor.
Photo by Ben Bair, courtesy Jacobs.
Jacobs supported the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s) 25.5-day Artemis I mission, which recently orbited the moon and concluded with the safe splashdown of the Orion spacecraft in the Pacific Ocean (pictured).
Powered by the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, an uncrewed test flight sent Orion on a 1.4-million-mile journey around the moon, travelling further than any space vehicle capable of transporting people safely. The mission launched on Nov. 16 and Orion returned to Earth on Dec. 11.
As NASA’s largest services contractor, Jacobs supported the mission from start to finish, including:
- assembling and integrating all SLS and Orion flight hardware components.
- developing launch control software.
- verification and validation testing of Artemis I flight components and structural testing of the SLS rocket.
- developing, with NASA, the trajectory plan for the orbital flight path of Artemis I, which took Orion 268,563 miles from Earth and 40,000 nautical miles beyond the moon.
- helping develop and test the reliability of the launch abort system.
- helping develop and manufacture thermal protection components for the intense temperatures of re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.
- developing and testing Orion’s re-entry parachute system, which slowed the capsule from 25,500 to 20 mph.
- transporting the vehicle to the pad.
- helping recover Orion from the ocean.
Artemis I is the first test flight in a planned series of increasingly complex exploration missions, which also aim to land the first woman and the first person of colour on the moon and establish a long-term human future in deep space.
“Orion’s successful journey has paved the way for a new era of scientific discovery and human exploration of deep space,” says Steve Arnette, Jacobs’ executive vice-president (EVP) and president for critical mission solutions. “Our teams across multiple NASA centres, contracts and programs are committed to providing innovative technologies in support of future Artemis missions.”
The mission concluded with the safe splashdown of the Orion spacecraft in the Pacific Ocean. Photo courtesy NASA.
