The Orion Crew Survival Systems team at NASA’s Johnson Space Center designs and certifies the pressure suits worn inside Orion, along with survival hardware integrated into each suit. Houghton manages crew survival kits, suit-worn survival equipment and life-preserver units, guiding each from design through testing and final certification. [S1]
That work continues beyond the hardware. Houghton helps develop water-survival and post-landing equipment, prepares astronauts for suit-up activities and trains Department of Defense recovery forces. He also joins the U.S. Navy in underway recovery exercises that rehearse post-splashdown operations; NASA describes the sea-based run as end-to-end practice for Artemis II. [S1]
Ground tests push systems toward their limits to uncover potential issues before flight. One fully suited human vacuum chamber test described by NASA lasted about 12 hours and supported certification of Orion’s environmental control and life-support system for Artemis II. [S1]
Source documents
- Nicholas Houghton: Engineering Crew Safety for NASA’s Artemis Missionshttps://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/johnson/nicholas-houghton-engineering-crew-safety-for-artemis-ii/