CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – The mockup Orion crew exploration vehicle is on the dock at the Trident Basin at Port Canaveral, Fla., waiting to be tested in open water. The goal of the operation, dubbed the Post-landing Orion Recovery Test, or PORT, is to determine what kind of motion astronauts can expect after landing, as well as outside conditions for recovery teams. Orion is targeted to begin carrying humans to the International Space Station in 2015 and to the moon by 2020. Orion, along with the Ares I and V rockets and the Altair lunar lander, are part of the Constellation Program. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Location Cape Canaveral, FL
Date April 8, 2009