Visitors view a full-scale mockup of NASA's Orion crew exploration vehicle during its one-day display Wednesday at StenniSphere, the visitor center at John C. Stennis Space Center. The mockup is used in tests to study the environment for astronauts and recovery crews after an Orion ocean splashdown. It was en route to Johnson Space Center in Houston for the next phase of testing.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Chris Keeling, a United Space Alliance technician at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, manufactures the heat shield tiles that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule. The work to manufacture and inspect the tiles is taking place in Kennedy's Thermal Protection System Facility. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Chris Keeling, a United Space Alliance technician at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, manufactures the heat shield tiles that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule. The work to manufacture and inspect the tiles is taking place in Kennedy's Thermal Protection System Facility. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The heat shield tiles that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule are being manufactured in the Thermal Protection System Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The heat shield tiles that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule are being manufactured and inspected in NASA Kennedy Space Center's Thermal Protection System Facility. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Chris Keeling, a United Space Alliance technician at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, manufactures the heat shield tiles that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule. The work to manufacture and inspect the tiles is taking place in Kennedy's Thermal Protection System Facility. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Damon Petty, a United Space Alliance technician at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, inspects a heat shield tile that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule. The work to manufacture and inspect the tiles is taking place in Kennedy's Thermal Protection System Facility. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
Tim Wright, a United Space Alliance engineering manager at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, unpacks the heat shield tiles that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule. The tiles are being manufactured and inspected in Kennedy's Thermal Protection System Facility. The tiles will be baked at 2,200 degrees F to cure their ceramic coating. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The heat shield tiles that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule are manufactured inside the Thermal Protection System Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The insulation includes thermal barriers that are used around hatches, thrusters and other open areas of the backshell to protect the joints from heat. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- -- Tim Wright, a United Space Alliance engineering manager at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, explains the properties of the thermal barriers that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule. The work to manufacture and inspect the tiles is taking place in Kennedy's Thermal Protection System Facility. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The heat shield tiles that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule are removed from a Keith thermal automation oven. Inside, the tiles were baked at 2,200 degrees F to cure their ceramic coating. The work to manufacture and inspect the tiles is taking place in Kennedy's Thermal Protection System Facility. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Chris Keeling, a United Space Alliance technician at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, manufactures the heat shield tiles that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule. The work to manufacture and inspect the tiles is taking place in Kennedy's Thermal Protection System Facility. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The heat shield tiles that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule are manufactured inside the Thermal Protection System Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The insulation includes thermal barriers that are used around hatches, thrusters and other open areas of the backshell to protect the joints from heat. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- John Livingston, a United Space Alliance engineer at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, describes the properties of the heat shield tiles that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule. The tiles are being manufactured and inspected in Kennedy's Thermal Protection System Facility. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Frank Pelkey, a United Space Alliance technician at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, inspects a heat shield tile that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule. The work to manufacture and inspect the tiles is taking place in Kennedy's Thermal Protection System Facility. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Chris Keeling, a United Space Alliance technician at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, manufactures the heat shield tiles that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule. The work to manufacture and inspect the tiles is taking place in Kennedy's Thermal Protection System Facility. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Tim Wright, a United Space Alliance engineering manager at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, explains the properties of the heat shield tiles that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule. The work to manufacture and inspect the tiles is taking place in Kennedy's Thermal Protection System Facility. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Chris Keeling, a United Space Alliance technician at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, manufactures the heat shield tiles that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule. The work to manufacture and inspect the tiles is taking place in Kennedy's Thermal Protection System Facility. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Frank Pelkey, a United Space Alliance technician at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, inspects a heat shield tile that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule. The work to manufacture and inspect the tiles is taking place in Kennedy's Thermal Protection System Facility. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The heat shield tiles that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule are in a Keith thermal automation oven in the Thermal Protection System Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Inside the oven, the tiles will be baked at 2,200 degrees F to cure their ceramic coating. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Chris Keeling, a United Space Alliance technician at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, manufactures the heat shield tiles that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule. The work to manufacture and inspect the tiles is taking place in Kennedy's Thermal Protection System Facility. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The heat shield tiles that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule are manufactured inside the Thermal Protection System Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The insulation includes thermal barriers that are used around hatches, thrusters and other open areas of the backshell to protect the joints from heat. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- United Space Alliance workers, Tim Wright, left, and Chris Keeling, manufacture the heat shield tiles that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule. The work to manufacture and inspect the tiles is taking place in the Thermal Protection System Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The heat shield tiles that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule are in a Keith thermal automation oven in the Thermal Protection System Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Inside the oven, the tiles will be baked at 2,200 degrees F to cure their ceramic coating. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Frank Pelkey, a United Space Alliance technician at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, inspects a heat shield tile that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule. The work to manufacture and inspect the tiles is taking place in Kennedy's Thermal Protection System Facility. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Jimmy Savastio, a United Space Alliance machinist at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, monitors the properties of a heat shield tile that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule. The work to manufacture and inspect the tiles is taking place in Kennedy's Thermal Protection System Facility. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Lockheed Martin crews assist as a crane is used to move the Orion ground test vehicle in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Lockheed Martin crews remove the Orion ground test vehicle from its packaging in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Lockheed Martin crews begin unpacking the Orion ground test vehicle in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Lockheed Martin crews unpack the Orion ground test vehicle in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Lockheed Martin crews begin unpacking the Orion ground test vehicle in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Lockheed Martin crews assist as a crane is used to lift the Orion ground test vehicle away from its packaging in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Lockheed Martin crews attach a crane to the Orion ground test vehicle in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Lockheed Martin crews assist as a crane lowers the Orion ground test vehicle on to a work stand in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Lockheed Martin crews assist as a crane is used to lower the Orion ground test vehicle on to a work stand in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Lockheed Martin crews secure the Orion ground test vehicle on a work stand in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Lockheed Martin crews have unpacked the Orion ground test vehicle in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Lockheed Martin crews unpack the Orion ground test vehicle in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Lockheed Martin crews begin unpacking the Orion ground test vehicle in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Lockheed Martin crews begin unpacking the Orion ground test vehicle in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Lockheed Martin crews begin unpacking the Orion ground test vehicle in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Lockheed Martin crews assist as a crane is used to move the Orion ground test vehicle toward a work stand in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Lockheed Martin crews unpack the Orion ground test vehicle in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Lockheed Martin crews unpack the Orion ground test vehicle in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Lockheed Martin crews begin unpacking the Orion ground test vehicle in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A crane is used to lift the Orion ground test vehicle in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The Orion ground test vehicle sits on a work stand in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A view of one of the work stands in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida where the Orion ground test vehicle has arrived. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The Orion ground test vehicle awaits unpacking on a stand in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The Orion ground test vehicle in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility is in NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from Lockheed Martin's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The Orion ground test vehicle sits on a work stand in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A view of one of the test stands in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida where the Orion ground test vehicle has arrived. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A crane is used to lift the Orion ground test vehicle in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A view of one of the work areas in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida where the Orion ground test vehicle has arrived. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- A view of the high bay in the Operations and Checkout O&C Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida where the Orion ground test vehicle has arrived. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from the company's Waterton Facility near Denver where it successfully completed a series of rigorous tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments. The ground test vehicle will be used for pathfinding operations in the O&C, including simulated manufacturing and assembly procedures. After those operations are completed, new backshell panels will be installed on the ground test vehicle at the O&C prior to the vehicle’s trek to NASA's Langley Research Center in Virginia for splashdown testing at the agency's Hydro Impact Basin. Launching atop NASA's heavy-lift Space Launch System SLS, which also is under development, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle MPCV will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry astronaut crews beyond low Earth orbit. It also will provide emergency abort capabilities, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Charisse Nahser
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Tim Wright, a United Space Alliance engineering manager at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, removes the heat shield tiles that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule from a Keith thermal automation oven. Inside, the tiles were baked at 2,200 degrees F to cure their ceramic coating. The work to manufacture and inspect the tiles is taking place in Kennedy's Thermal Protection System Facility. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Tim Wright, a United Space Alliance engineering manager at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, put the heat shield tiles that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule in a Keith thermal automation oven. The tiles will be baked at 2,200 degrees F to cure their ceramic coating. The work to manufacture and inspect the tiles is taking place in Kennedy's Thermal Protection System Facility. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Tim Wright, a United Space Alliance engineering manager at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, unloads the heat shield tiles that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule. The tiles are being manufactured and inspected in Kennedy's Thermal Protection System Facility. The tiles will be baked at 2,200 degrees F to cure their ceramic coating. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Tim Wright, a United Space Alliance engineering manager at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, removes the heat shield tiles that will be installed to the backshell of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's Exploration Flight Test EFT-1 capsule from a Keith thermal automation oven. Inside, the tiles were baked at 2,200 degrees F to cure their ceramic coating. The work to manufacture and inspect the tiles is taking place in Kennedy's Thermal Protection System Facility. EFT-1 will be used during Orion's first test flight in space. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: Frankie Martin
NASA Dryden technicians take measurements inside a fit-check mockup for prior to systems installation on a boilerplate Orion launch abort test crew capsule. A mockup Orion crew module has been constructed by NASA Dryden Flight Research Center's Fabrication Branch. The mockup is being used to develop integration procedures for avionics and instrumentation in advance of the arrival of the first abort flight test article.
Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans prepare the completed Orion pressure vessel for the Artemis IV mission for shipment to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The pressure vessel, which was assembled by lead contractor, Lockheed Martin, is the Orion crew module primary structure – the core upon which all other elements of Orion’s crew module are integrated. The structure is critical to Artemis crews as it holds the pressurized atmosphere astronauts breathe and work in a while in the vacuum of deep space. Once the module arrives at Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building high bay, teams will begin integration of the pressure vessel with the Orion spacecraft crew module adapter and other assembly. With Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface, paving the way for human exploration of the Moon and on to Mars. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker
Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans prepare the completed Orion pressure vessel for the Artemis IV mission for shipment to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The pressure vessel, which was assembled by lead contractor, Lockheed Martin, is the Orion crew module primary structure – the core upon which all other elements of Orion’s crew module are integrated. The structure is critical to Artemis crews as it holds the pressurized atmosphere astronauts breathe and work in a while in the vacuum of deep space. Once the module arrives at Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building high bay, teams will begin integration of the pressure vessel with the Orion spacecraft crew module adapter and other assembly. With Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface, paving the way for human exploration of the Moon and on to Mars. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker
Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans prepare the completed Orion pressure vessel for the Artemis IV mission for shipment to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The pressure vessel, which was assembled by lead contractor, Lockheed Martin, is the Orion crew module primary structure – the core upon which all other elements of Orion’s crew module are integrated. The structure is critical to Artemis crews as it holds the pressurized atmosphere astronauts breathe and work in a while in the vacuum of deep space. Once the module arrives at Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building high bay, teams will begin integration of the pressure vessel with the Orion spacecraft crew module adapter and other assembly. With Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface, paving the way for human exploration of the Moon and on to Mars. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker
Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans prepare the completed Orion pressure vessel for the Artemis IV mission for shipment to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The pressure vessel, which was assembled by lead contractor, Lockheed Martin, is the Orion crew module primary structure – the core upon which all other elements of Orion’s crew module are integrated. The structure is critical to Artemis crews as it holds the pressurized atmosphere astronauts breathe and work in a while in the vacuum of deep space. Once the module arrives at Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building high bay, teams will begin integration of the pressure vessel with the Orion spacecraft crew module adapter and other assembly. With Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface, paving the way for human exploration of the Moon and on to Mars. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker
Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans prepare the completed Orion pressure vessel for the Artemis IV mission for shipment to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The pressure vessel, which was assembled by lead contractor, Lockheed Martin, is the Orion crew module primary structure – the core upon which all other elements of Orion’s crew module are integrated. The structure is critical to Artemis crews as it holds the pressurized atmosphere astronauts breathe and work in a while in the vacuum of deep space. Once the module arrives at Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building high bay, teams will begin integration of the pressure vessel with the Orion spacecraft crew module adapter and other assembly. With Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface, paving the way for human exploration of the Moon and on to Mars. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker
Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans prepare the completed Orion pressure vessel for the Artemis IV mission for shipment to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The pressure vessel, which was assembled by lead contractor, Lockheed Martin, is the Orion crew module primary structure – the core upon which all other elements of Orion’s crew module are integrated. The structure is critical to Artemis crews as it holds the pressurized atmosphere astronauts breathe and work in a while in the vacuum of deep space. Once the module arrives at Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building high bay, teams will begin integration of the pressure vessel with the Orion spacecraft crew module adapter and other assembly. With Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface, paving the way for human exploration of the Moon and on to Mars. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker
Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans prepare the completed Orion pressure vessel for the Artemis IV mission for shipment to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The pressure vessel, which was assembled by lead contractor, Lockheed Martin, is the Orion crew module primary structure – the core upon which all other elements of Orion’s crew module are integrated. The structure is critical to Artemis crews as it holds the pressurized atmosphere astronauts breathe and work in a while in the vacuum of deep space. Once the module arrives at Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building high bay, teams will begin integration of the pressure vessel with the Orion spacecraft crew module adapter and other assembly. With Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface, paving the way for human exploration of the Moon and on to Mars. Image credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker
America will send a new generation of explorers to the moon aboard NASA’s Orion crew exploration vehicle. Making its first flights to the International Space Station early in the next decade, Orion is part of the Constellation Program to send human explorers back to the moon, and then onward to Mars and other destinations in the solar system.
Shown is a concept illustration of the Ares I crew launch vehicle, left, and Ares V cargo launch vehicle. Ares I will carry the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle to space. Ares V will serve as NASA's primary vehicle for delivery of large-scale hardware to space.
THIS CONCEPT IMAGE SHOWS NASA'S NEXT GENERATION LAUNCH VEHICLE SYSTEMS STANDING SIDE BY SIDE. ARES I, LEFT, IS THE CREW LAUNCH VEHICLE THAT WILL CARRY THE ORION CREW EXPLORATION VEHICLE TO SPACE. ARES V IS THE CARGO LAUNCH VEHICLE THAT WILL DELIVER LARGE SCALE HARDWARE, INCLUDING THE LUNAR LANDER, TO SPACE.
Orion / Space Launch System: NASA has selected the design of a new Space Launch System SLS that will take the agency's astronauts farther into space than ever before and provide the cornerstone for America's future human space exploration efforts. The SLS will launch human crews beyond low Earth orbit in the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle. Orion is America’s next generation spacecraft. It will serve as the exploration vehicle that will provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel, carry the crew to distant planetary bodies, and provide safe return from deep space. Poster designed by Kennedy Space Center Graphics Department/Greg Lee. Credit: NASA
Noise Accoustical Test Rig (NATR) Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) 85-AA-Constellation, Orion Capsule and nozzle on front of NATR
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a mock-up of the Orion crew exploration vehicle is on display. The mock-up details the interior components of the vehicle including seat layout and the subsystem components on the outside of the pressure vessel. Orion mock-ups also have been used to verify accessibility of the servicing locations at the launch pad and in the Vehicle Assembly Building. For information on the development of the Orion capsule, visit www.nasa.gov_orion. Photo credit: NASA_Jim Grossmann
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, employees peruse exhibits surrounding a mock-up of the Orion crew exploration vehicle. The mock-up details the interior components of the vehicle including seat layout and the subsystem components on the outside of the pressure vessel. Orion mock-ups also have been used to verify accessibility of the servicing locations at the launch pad and in the Vehicle Assembly Building. For information on the development of the Orion capsule, visit www.nasa.gov_orion. Photo credit: NASA_Jim Grossmann
SHOWN IS A CONCEPT IMAGE OF THE ARES V EARTH DEPARTURE STAGE AND LUNAR SURFACE ACCESS MODULE DOCKED WITH THE ORION CREW EXPLORATION VEHICLE IN EARTH ORBIT. THE DEPARTURE STAGE, POWERED BY A J-2X ENGINE, IS NEEDED TO ESCAPE EARTH'S GRAVITY AND SEND THE CREW VEHICLE AND LUNAR MODULE ON THEIR JOURNEY TO THE MOON.
From left to right, Shawn Quinn, manager, Exploration Ground Systems; Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director, Exploration Ground Systems; and Cliff Lanham, senior vehicle operations manager, Exploration Ground Systems, raise the Artemis flag near the countdown clock at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, July 22, 2024. The flag raising marks the arrival of NASA’s massive SLS (Space Launch System) core stage via the agency’s Pegasus barge from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The core stage will help power SLS when it launches four astronauts around the Moon for the first crewed flight of SLS and the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II test flight.
From left to right, Cliff Lanham, senior vehicle operations manager, Exploration Ground Systems; Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director, Exploration Ground Systems; and Shawn Quinn, manager, Exploration Ground Systems, prepare to raise the Artemis flag near the countdown clock at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, July 22, 2024. The flag raising marks the arrival of NASA’s massive SLS (Space Launch System) core stage via the agency’s Pegasus barge from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The core stage will help power SLS when it launches four astronauts around the Moon for the first crewed flight of SLS and the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II test flight.
From left to right, Shawn Quinn, manager, Exploration Ground Systems; Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director, Exploration Ground Systems; and Cliff Lanham, senior vehicle operations manager, Exploration Ground Systems, raise the Artemis flag near the countdown clock at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, July 22, 2024. The flag raising marks the arrival of NASA’s massive SLS (Space Launch System) core stage via the agency’s Pegasus barge from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The core stage will help power SLS when it launches four astronauts around the Moon for the first crewed flight of SLS and the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II test flight.
From left to right, Shawn Quinn, manager, Exploration Ground Systems; Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director, Exploration Ground Systems; and Cliff Lanham, senior vehicle operations manager, Exploration Ground Systems, raise the Artemis flag near the countdown clock at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, July 22, 2024. The flag raising marks the arrival of NASA’s massive SLS (Space Launch System) core stage via the agency’s Pegasus barge from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The core stage will help power SLS when it launches four astronauts around the Moon for the first crewed flight of SLS and the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II test flight.
From left to right, Cliff Lanham, senior vehicle operations manager, Exploration Ground Systems; Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director, Exploration Ground Systems; and Shawn Quinn, manager, Exploration Ground Systems, prepare to raise the Artemis flag near the countdown clock at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, July 22, 2024. The flag raising marks the arrival of NASA’s massive SLS (Space Launch System) core stage via the agency’s Pegasus barge from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The core stage will help power SLS when it launches four astronauts around the Moon for the first crewed flight of SLS and the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II test flight.
From left to right, Cliff Lanham, senior vehicle operations manager, Exploration Ground Systems; Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director, Exploration Ground Systems; and Shawn Quinn, manager, Exploration Ground Systems, prepare to raise the Artemis flag near the countdown clock at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, July 22, 2024. The flag raising marks the arrival of NASA’s massive SLS (Space Launch System) core stage via the agency’s Pegasus barge from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The core stage will help power SLS when it launches four astronauts around the Moon for the first crewed flight of SLS and the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II test flight.
From left to right, Cliff Lanham, senior vehicle operations manager, Exploration Ground Systems; Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis launch director, Exploration Ground Systems; and Shawn Quinn, manager, Exploration Ground Systems, prepare to raise the Artemis flag near the countdown clock at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, July 22, 2024. The flag raising marks the arrival of NASA’s massive SLS (Space Launch System) core stage via the agency’s Pegasus barge from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The core stage will help power SLS when it launches four astronauts around the Moon for the first crewed flight of SLS and the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis II test flight.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – In the Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United Space Alliance EV_IV Integrated Operations work control specialist Jennifer Peterson, dressed in a flight-and-entry suit, prepares to demonstrate the crew equipment inside a mock-up of an Orion crew exploration vehicle. The mock-up details the interior components of the vehicle including seat layout and the subsystem components on the outside of the pressure vessel. Orion mock-ups also have been used to verify accessibility of the servicing locations at the launch pad and in the Vehicle Assembly Building. For information on the development of the Orion capsule, visit www.nasa.gov_orion. Photo credit: NASA_Jim Grossmann
Photographs of the Low Impact Docking System (LIDS); this hardware is a test for the ORION docking birthing system to connect the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) to the International Space Station (ISS); atomic oxygen 12 inch seals testing
Photographs of the Low Impact Docking System (LIDS); this hardware is a test for the ORION docking birthing system to connect Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) to the International Space Station (ISS)
NASA Officials gather at Ames Research Center to discuss Spaceship development progress. Constellation is developing the Orion spacecraft and Ares rockets to support an American return to the moon by 2020. Speaker James Reuther, ARC, leader of the Advanced Development Thermal rotection Systems (heat shield) project for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle
NASA Officials gather at Ames Research Center to discuss Spaceship development progress. Constellation is developing the Orion spacecraft and Ares rockets to support an American return to the moon by 2020. Speaker James Reuther, ARC, leader of the Advanced Development Thermal rotection Systems (heat shield) project for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle
NASA Officials gather at Ames Research Center to discuss Spaceship development progress. Constellation is developing the Orion spacecraft and Ares rockets to support an American return to the moon by 2020. Speaker James Reuther, ARC, leader of the Advanced Development Thermal rotection Systems (heat shield) project for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- At the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida, NASA Orion Production Manager Scott Wilson shows tourists how an Orion crew exploration vehicle and its launch abort system would be stacked for launch. For information on NASA's future plans, visit www.nasa.gov. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin
NASA Officials gather at Ames Research Center to discuss Spaceship development progress. Constellation is developing the Orion spacecraft and Ares rockets to support an American return to the moon by 2020. Speaker James Reuther, ARC, leader of the Advanced Development Thermal rotection Systems (heat shield) project for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle
NASA Officials gather at Ames Research Center to discuss Spaceship development progress. Constellation is developing the Orion spacecraft and Ares rockets to support an American return to the moon by 2020. Speaker James Reuther, ARC, leader of the Advanced Development Thermal rotection Systems (heat shield) project for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle
NASA Officials gather at Ames Research Center to discuss Spaceship development progress. Constellation is developing the Orion spacecraft and Ares rockets to support an American return to the moon by 2020. Speaker James Reuther, ARC, leader of the Advanced Development Thermal rotection Systems (heat shield) project for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle
Pictured is the first Avcoat manufacturing demonstration unit for the Orion crew exploration vehicle. Approimately 30 percent of the full five-meter heat shield shows Avcoat thermal protection materail attached (at various stages of completion) to a surrogate Orion heat shield carrier structure. Work being done at Textron.
NASA Officials gather at Ames Research Center to discuss Spaceship development progress. Constellation is developing the Orion spacecraft and Ares rockets to support an American return to the moon by 2020. Speaker James Reuther, ARC, leader of the Advanced Development Thermal rotection Systems (heat shield) project for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle
NASA Officials gather at Ames Research Center to discuss Spaceship development progress. Constellation is developing the Orion spacecraft and Ares rockets to support an American return to the moon by 2020. Speaker James Reuther, ARC, leader of the Advanced Development Thermal rotection Systems (heat shield) project for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle
Shown is a concept illustration of Ares I which is an in-line, two-stage rocket that will transport the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle to low earth orbit. Orion will accommodate as many as six astronauts. The first stage will consist of the five-segment solid rocket booster.
NASA Officials gather at Ames Research Center to discuss Spaceship development progress. Constellation is developing the Orion spacecraft and Ares rockets to support an American return to the moon by 2020. Speaker James Reuther, ARC, leader of the Advanced Development Thermal rotection Systems (heat shield) project for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle
NASA Officials gather at Ames Research Center to discuss Spaceship development progress. Constellation is developing the Orion spacecraft and Ares rockets to support an American return to the moon by 2020. Speaker James Reuther, ARC, leader of the Advanced Development Thermal rotection Systems (heat shield) project for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle
A CONCEPT IMAGE SHOWS THE ARES I CREW LAUNCH VEHICLE DURING ASCENT. ARES I IS AN IN-LINE, TWO-STAGE ROCKET CONFIGURATION TOPED BY THE ORION CREW EXPLORATION VEHICLE AND LAUNCH ABORT SYSTEM. THE ARES I FIRST STAGE IS A SINGLE, FIVE-SEGMENT REUSABLE SOLID ROCKET BOOSTER, DERIVED FROM THE SPACE SHUTTLE. ITS UPPER STAGE IS POWERED BY A J-2X ENGINE. ARES I WILL CARRY THE ORION WITH ITS CRW OF UP TO SIX ASTRONAUTS TO EARTH ORBIT.
A heavy-load transport truck carrying the Orion crew access arm passes the Vehicle Assembly Building on its way to the mobile launcher at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The access arm will be installed at about the 274-foot level on the mobile launcher tower. It will rotate from its retracted position and interface with the Orion crew hatch location to provide entry to the Orion crew module. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing installation of umbilicals and launch accessories on the ML tower to prepare for Exploration Mission-1.