NASA’s Artemis II enters ’13 minutes of terror’ as crew returns

The planned six-minute radio blackout period has begun as Artemis II made first contact with the upper atmosphere at 7.53pm ET.

The Orion crew module carrying NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, was approximately 400,000 feet above Earth’s surface.

The crew is expected to experience up to 3.9 Gs in the planned entry route. The communications blackout is being caused by a ‘plasma buildup’ as the heat of reentry rise around the capsule.

The astronauts transmitted one final image of Earth as heat built up around the craft before entering the planned radio blackout period.

Orion’s crew module has successfully separated from the service module, and the final maneuver to angle Artemis II for a safe reentry into Earth’s atmosphere has been completed.

NASA has confirmed that the return of Artemis II will now continue with no other changes in the scheduled splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at approximately 8.07pm ET.

NASA cautioned that the crew module will lose contact with the space agency for six minutes as it enters the atmosphere.

Captain Erik Kenny, the commanding officer of the US Navy’s USS John P Murtha revealed that the ship has launched the four helicopters which will be monitoring the splashdown site as Artemis II nears Earth’s atmosphere.

The Murtha set out from the California coast earlier in the week for its mission to recovery the Orion spacecraft is less than one hour.

NASA flight surgeon Dr Rick Scheuring revealed that crews at the splashdown site are preparing to help the four astronauts, who may battle severe nausea after reentering Earth’s much stronger atmosphere.

Scheuring said: ‘The human system is very dynamic. It has to readapt very quickly. One of the most common responses they get is some stomach awareness, to some nausea, to some vomiting.’

To help NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, the crew has taken anti-nausea medication and increasing their fluid intake in preparation for splashdown.

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen have changed into their protective space suits as the crew begin their final leak checks before entering the Earth’s atmosphere at approximately 7.33pm ET

NASA’s Artemis mission recovery director, Paul Sierpinski, said that the conditions near the splashdown site look great and everything remains on schedule for the Orion spacecraft to return in just over an hour.

NASA has released its official timeline of what will happen during Artemis II’s historic return to Earth:

7.33pm ET: Orion’s crew module will separate from the service module, exposing its heat shield for the spacecraft’s return through Earth’s atmosphere, where temperatures will reach up to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

7.37pm ET: Orion will perform an 18-second crew module raise burn beginning to set the proper entry angle and align the heat shield for its collision with the atmosphere.

7.53pm ET: When Orion reaches 400,000 feet above Earth’s surface, the crew is expected to experience up to 3.9 Gs in the planned entry route. This moment marks the spacecraft’s first contact with the upper atmosphere and the starts a six-minute communications blackout.

8.03pm ET: Around 22,000 feet over the surface, parachutes will deploy, slowing and stabilizing the capsule as Orion nears splashdown.

8.04pm ET: At around 6,000 feet, the initial parachutes will release, and the three main parachutes will deploy, reducing Orion’s speed to less than 136 mph.

8.07pm ET: Slowing to 20 mph, Orion will splash down in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, completing the Artemis II crew’s return to Earth and a 694,481-mile journey.

The Orion spacecraft carrying four astronauts back to Earth successfully completed their final burn Friday afternoon at 2.53pm ET.

The capsule ignited its thrusters for eight seconds, changing their velocity by 4.2 feet-per-second and pushing Artemis II into a course that will take it safely into the Pacific Ocean at approximately 8.07pm ET.