Human spaceflight is inherently dangerous due to the high speeds and extreme environments during launch, orbit, flight, and reentry phases. An identified risk during the ocean landing of the Orion capsule was the possibility that the structure could come to rest in an inverted configuration, greatly complicating crew and spacecraft recovery.
We developed the Crew Module Uprighting System (CMUS) for the Orion spacecraft in response to a request from a leading aerospace and defense contractor. The CMUS ensures the Orion space capsule maintains an upright orientation after ocean landing.
Our engineers used in-house software to develop the CMUS concept. The system employs five, mutually independent flotation bags. For reliability, the design includes a simple, no-moving-parts approach. Upon activation, a pressurized helium gas tank inflates the bags to provide the required buoyancy for the spacecraft.
Full Scale Testing
We successfully demonstrated the functionality of the full-scale system by installing the Oceaneering-manufactured CMUS hardware on NASAâs Post-landing Orion Recovery Test (PORT) vehicle. Seventeen tests were completed over a five-day period at NASAâs Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) in Houston.
Orion EFT-1 Flight Test
The first CMUS flight test was on the EFT-1 mission in early December 2014. The CMUS was activated 15 seconds after landing. The flight test resulted in the identification of a number of design modifications to increase performance.
Flight Hardware Delivered
We were contracted to complete further CMUS development and to deliver flight hardware for the first two Orion missions, Artemis 1 and 2. The development efforts included incorporating lessons learned from the EFT-1 mission and an aggressive testing program to verify system performance.
Additional PORT testing was performed at the NBL, the Gulf of Mexico, and in the Atlantic Ocean. The flight-ready CMUS was installed in Orion for the Artemis 1 mission. Artemis 1 was launched on November 16, 2022, with the Orion capsule completing two flybys of the Moon and completing a 6-day distant retrograde orbit, traveling beyond the Moon. Orion returned to Earth in a searing reentry, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on December 11, 2022, with the CMUS performing perfectly.
A second flight unit was also delivered for Artemis 2. Oceaneering has been selected for the CMUS follow-on production contract.
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