NASA's Artemis II mission pilot, Victor Glover, conducted a manual flight test of the Orion crew capsule on Wednesday, orchestrating a series of precision maneuvers around the discarded second stage of the Space Launch System rocket. The exercise, described by Orion program manager Howard Hu as "test driving the car," took place en route to the Moon and aimed to evaluate the spacecraft's handling and systems in a real-space environment.

During the "proximity operations" (prox ops) test, astronaut Glover, a former Navy test pilot, took manual control of Orion from its automated systems. He guided the capsule to within 10 meters (approximately 33 feet) of the inert rocket stage, using it as a target for assessing delicate maneuvers. Glover reported the spacecraft felt "quite nice and very responsive," noting improvements in camera performance compared to ground-based simulators.

The primary objective was to gather crucial data for future Artemis missions, particularly Artemis III, which will require Orion to dock with lunar landers from companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin. David Dannemiller, deputy manager for Orion's guidance, navigation, and control system, emphasized the importance of performing these tests now. "By being able to do it now, if we see any funnies in the data or decide we need to make any corrections, we have time to make those corrections before the Artemis III flight," Dannemiller stated during a NASA webcast.

The test also provided insights into Orion's propulsion system. Glover observed that the thrusters produced a subtle rumble, distinct from the popping sounds associated with other spacecraft like the Russian Soyuz or SpaceX Crew Dragon. Measuring these minute thruster pulses, which can induce velocity changes of less than a hundredth of a meter per second, required careful observation of the rocket stage's relative position, as accelerometers sometimes struggled to register them.

Cameras in space also present unique challenges due to the absence of atmospheric diffusion, leading to stark contrasts between bright and dark areas. The mission allowed for an evaluation of camera performance under these conditions. Glover successfully maneuvered Orion to obtain a side view of the rocket stage, identifying a prominent American flag.

The roughly hour-long test concluded with all planned objectives met. Glover affirmed, "Overall, this flies very nicely." The data collected on the propulsion system and cameras is considered vital and unattainable through ground simulations alone. Further manual flying tasks, including star alignment and testing of a degraded control system, are slated for later in the mission, solidifying preparations for the critical docking procedures planned for Artemis III.