At NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, technicians with Orion prime contractor Lockheed Martin welded together the first two sections of the Orion crew module for Exploration Mission-2, the first flight of Orion with astronauts which will carry them farther into the solar system than ever before. The crew module, or pressure vessel, is the primary structure that holds the pressurized atmosphere astronauts will breathe and work in while in the vacuum of deep space and is the structure upon which all the other elements of Orion are integrated. It was designed specifically to withstand the harsh and demanding environment of deep space travel, while keeping the crew safe and comfortable.
The main structure of the pressure vessel is comprised of seven large machined aluminum alloy pieces that are welded together to produce a strong, yet light-weight, air-tight capsule. The first weld joined the forward bulkhead with the tunnel section to create the top of the spacecraft. Prior to the critical first weld, engineers prepared and outfitted each of the two segments with strain gauges to monitor the reaction of the metal during the procedure. The bulkhead and tunnel were welded together with a state-of-the-art process called friction-stir welding, which produces an extremely strong bond of the two aluminum components with a uniform welded joint.
The remaining sections of the pressure vessel will continue to be welded together over the spring and summer at Michoud, incorporating the three cone panels, the large barrel and the aft bulkhead. Once completed in September, it will be shipped to the Kennedy Space Center where it will undergo assembly into the EM-2 spacecraft.