Part of the Orion spacecraft that will carry four astronauts into space during the Artemis III mission has recently completed acoustic testing at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.
During this test, columns of enormous speakers surround the spacecraft and generate noise levels of almost 140 decibels, comparable to a jet engine at take-off, to ensure Orion can withstand the intense sound and vibrations experienced during launch.
The Orion crew and service modules are tested separately. Here, ESA’s European Service Module can be seen at the centre of the stage inside the Operations and Checkout Building alongside the towering acoustic test speakers. Attached to the module are its four solar arrays, the crew module adapter above and the conical stage adapter below.
Having successfully passed this milestone, engineers from Airbus in the Netherlands are now removing the solar arrays and the hold-down release mechanisms that deploy the panels once Orion is in space. The arrays are installed for acoustic testing but are removed for the remainder of the testing programme to reduce handling risks. For future European Service Modules, engineers are improving simulation methods to reduce this repeated installation and removal of the arrays.
The European Service Module is the powerhouse of the Orion spacecraft and will provide power, thermal control and propulsion, as well as air and water for the four astronauts on board. Built by European industry led by ESA, the modules are assembled by prime contractor Airbus in Bremen, Germany, with contributions across 13 European countries involving 20 main contractors and over 100 European suppliers.
This third European Service Module left Bremen in August 2024, sailing across the Atlantic Ocean on board the Canopée vessel, the same boat that transports Ariane launchers to Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. After arriving at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, it was connected with the crew module adapter, and in September 2025, ESA officially handed over the module to NASA.
This module will power the Artemis III mission, now planned as a crewed test flight in low Earth orbit to demonstrate systems and operations needed for the lunar landing mission scheduled for Artemis IV.
Once the Space Launch System rocket sends Orion into space, the European Service Module engines will fire to adjust the spacecraft’s orbit and support proximity and docking demonstrations with lunar landing system pathfinders. During Artemis II, the crew successfully piloted Orion using the European Service Module’s engines to practise similar manoeuvres around the upper stage of the Space Launch System rocket.