The real struggle for the four astronauts, who broke the distance record in human history by going beyond the Moon, will begin the moment they hit the Earth’s atmosphere.
The Orion capsule, which is approximately 4.5 meters in diameter, will hit the atmosphere at a speed of approximately 40 thousand kilometers per hour (11 kilometers per second) before landing in the Pacific Ocean.
This enormous speed will cause the air around the capsule to heat up to 2,760 degrees Celsius. The only thing that will protect the astronauts from this hell is the heat shield called “Avcoat”, which is only 7.5 centimeters thick and made of silica fiber and epoxy resin.
HEAT SHIELD FAILED IN TESTS
What’s really worrying is the past record of this shield. In the Artemis I test conducted without a crew in 2022, the heat shield unexpectedly broke apart. It was determined that large and small pieces had broken off from more than 100 points of the shield and the main connection bolts had partially melted.
