areoform23h ago

Artemis II safely splashes down

https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/artemis-ii-splashdown-return/

Artemis II crew splashes down near San Diego after historic moon mission

NASA's Artemis II astronauts returned to Earth with a splashdown landing in the Pacific Ocean after making a high-speed reentry through the atmosphere.

Show threadareoform23h ago

Glad that they're safe and sound.

It's worth pointing out that this is the first extremely public, widely acknowledged high risk mission NASA has done in over 50 years. The Shuttle was risky, but it wasn't thought of or acknowledged by NASA as being risky until very late in its lifecycle.

According to NASA's OIG, Artemis acceptable crew mortality rate is 1 in 30. Roughly 3x riskier than the shuttle. There genuinely is a world where they don't make it back home.

I am grateful that they did. And I'm grateful that we're going to go even further. I can't wait to see what Jared's cooking up (for those who don't know, he made his own version of the Gemini program in Polaris and funded it out of pocket).

Show threadphilistine23h ago
I’d bet a million dollars that Orion will win every safety metric compared to the shuttle once it is retired. NASA deluded itself in thinking the Shuttle was safe. The reality is that the Shuttle was the most dangerous spaceship anyone ever built.
Show threaddingaling21h ago
Artemis rides on extended versions of the same SRBs that made the Shuttle ascent so dangerous.
Show threadbombcar
Was any shuttle lost to the SRBs?
Apr 11 at 1:45amWeb
Show threadabstractbeliefs21h ago
Yes, 50% of shuttle losses were due to SRB failures (Challenger)
Show threadnominatronic21h ago
That's exactly how Challenger was lost.
Show thread_moof21h ago

Yes, Challenger - although program management knew they were violating a launch constraint (temperature), and it was the low temperature that produced the conditions necessary for SRB failure.

As with any aerospace mishap, it's a chain of events, not just one cause.

Show threaddgfl21h ago
Yes, challenger. The O-ring failed, creating a gas exhaust that almost instantly destroyed the main propellant tank.