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I was reviewing the Artemis1 Orion reentry footage and spotted a couple of slower moving "meteors" below the craft.

enter image description here

These meteors appear to be too far below the capsule to be debris that's ablated from the heatshield. I'm wondering what they could be? Did Orion jettison any components immediately before reentry?

Link to original video (objects in question found around 4:55):

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    $\begingroup$ Not certain, but it looks like it might've been a small piece of ablated heat shield material that fell further away from the spacecraft before it started burning up - maybe the pieces were edge-on against the incoming air until they eventually turned on their side and were disintegrated? I would expect that any jettisoned components would have drifted far out of view during descent into the upper atmosphere, too. Of course I can't definitively say either way, but... $\endgroup$
    – controlgroup
    Commented Aug 22 at 6:48

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tl;dr they are chunks off the heatshield

The OIG report discussing issues with Orion has a similar still from the video in it and labels it "char loss".

enter image description here

It also states

Specifically, portions of the char layer wore away differently than NASA engineers predicted, cracking and breaking off the spacecraft in fragments that created a trail of debris rather than melting away as designed...

(emphasis mine)

Source: https://oig.nasa.gov/office-of-inspector-general-oig/audit-reports/nasas-readiness-for-the-artemis-ii-crewed-mission-to-lunar-orbit/

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  • $\begingroup$ The reference is great. The trail of debris is fast moving (across the field of view) and this question is about the two slower moving meteors. The article shows cavities and mentions "large chunks" which is one a possibility I suppose. It also says "Upon reentry to the Earth’s atmosphere, the bolts receive a separation command releasing the Crew Module from the Service Module. The Service Module burns up in Earth’s atmosphere, while the Crew Module continues its descent and landing under the protection of the heat shield." $\endgroup$
    – phil1008
    Commented Aug 22 at 17:16
  • $\begingroup$ @phil1008 The Orion capsule does a sep burn after releasing the SM. It appears the two modules reenter pretty far apart. esa.int/Science_Exploration/Human_and_Robotic_Exploration/Orion/… $\endgroup$
    – Organic Marble
    Commented Aug 22 at 18:48
  • $\begingroup$ I don't think there's enough info there to rule out the service module. "Upon reentry' and "20 minute before reentry" are pretty far apart, suggesting that one source is more right than the other. Also, we don't know how much delta-v was in the separation burn. $\endgroup$
    – phil1008
    Commented Aug 22 at 19:27

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