Featured image: NASA’s Artemis II SLS rocket at Launch Complex 39B, Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky.
Janicki supplied tooling and parts in support of NASA’s Artemis program, contributing to the manufacturing infrastructure behind the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft.
NASA’s Artemis II SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft at Launch Pad 39B, Kennedy Space Center, Florida. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls. Source image available at nasa.gov.
NASA‘s Artemis II mission is set to launch no earlier than Wednesday, April 1, at 6:24 PM EDT (3:24 PM PDT), with a two hour launch window. This is the first crewed mission to the Moon in more than 50 years. Four astronauts will travel approximately 685,000 miles on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back, paving the way for future lunar landings and a long-term human presence on the lunar surface.
Artemis II builds on the uncrewed Artemis I test flight in 2022 and will be the first time humans have flown aboard NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft. At its farthest point, the crew will travel roughly 4,700 miles beyond the far side of the Moon, farther than any humans have ventured since Apollo 17 in 1972.
The Mission
Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialists Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen of the Canadian Space Agency will make up the four-person crew. After liftoff, the crew will spend the first day in Earth orbit testing Orion’s life support systems before a trans-lunar injection burn sends them toward the Moon. They will reach lunar vicinity on approximately Day 5, conduct a flyby and begin their return to Earth, with splashdown planned in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California.
Janicki technicians position the layers of the diaphragm for the Orion stage adapter.
Janicki’s Role
Janicki has supplied tooling and parts in support of the Artemis program and its predecessor missions. Our work with NASA goes back several years, including manufacturing the composite diaphragm for the Orion stage adapter, which serves as a critical barrier between propellant gases and the crew compartment during launch. That work is covered in detail by Aerospace America and documented by NASA. Janicki also developed composite tooling for the SLS payload fairing, as covered by CompositesWorld. As one of more than 3,800 suppliers across the country who contributed to the manufacturing infrastructure behind this program, we are proud to have played a part in this mission.
Watch It Live
NASA will stream the launch live, free, on multiple platforms. Coverage begins at 12:50 PM EDT on April 1, with liftoff targeted for 6:24 PM EDT. Backup launch opportunities run through April 6.