October 28, 2018

Orion’s European Service Module Makes its Debut at Kennedy Space Center (Source: SpaceFlight Insider)
On Friday, Nov. 16 NASA will mark the arrival of the European Service Module to Kennedy Space Center. The agency plans to honor this historic event at 9 a.m. EST (12:00 GMT) with NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, European Space Agency (ESA) Director General Jan Wörner and other officials slated to make remarks. Both Bridenstine and Wörner expected to speak at the event.

The European Service Module (ESM) is the first major component of a NASA vehicle ever constructed outside of the U.S. The 34,085 lbs (15,461 kg) ESM is designed to provide air, water, thermal control and propulsion to the Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1) crew that will fly on Orion. For comparison, the Apollo Service Module weighed in at about 54,057 lbs (24,520 kg). (10/27)