Background

Led by Paul Hill (former shuttle flight director and ASAP member), the board completed its work by summer 2024 but its findings were never published. Artemis II launched without public disclosure of its conclusions.

Established after Artemis I (November 2022), when Orion's heat shield lost ablative material at 100+ locations during reentry. The board investigated the root cause: trapped gas during the skip-reentry manoeuvre cracked the Avcoat coating and ejected char fragments. Its mandate was to assess whether Orion was safe to carry crew.

NASA's decision to launch without publishing the findings creates an accountability gap. The public cannot independently verify the safety case. The crew departed relying on a trajectory change (steeper direct-descent reentry) rather than a hardware fix.

Common Questions

What did NASA's heat shield review board find?

The board's findings have not been published. NASA adopted a trajectory change rather than a hardware fix.Source: background

Why are the Artemis heat shield findings secret?

NASA has not explained the decision. The IRB completed work by summer 2024 but the report was never released.Source: background

Who led the Orion heat shield investigation?

Paul Hill, a former shuttle flight director and ASAP member.Source: quick_facts

Is the Artemis II heat shield safe?

NASA says yes, via a trajectory change. Independent experts note the underlying material is unchanged.Source: background

What happened to Orion's heat shield on Artemis I?

It lost ablative material at 100+ locations. Trapped gas cracked the Avcoat coating during skip-reentry.Source: background

How the World Sees Them

Crew

Expressed conditional confidence, accepting the trajectory change as adequate before departing.

NASA

Expressed institutional confidence in the trajectory fix as sufficient mitigation, declining to publish the board's full findings.

Safety community

Warns the absence of publication creates an accountability gap with no independent means of verifying the safety case.

Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 2 April 2026. Editorial standards.