A technician checks the Orion heat shield for Artemis I before it is moved into the thermal chamber in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 23, 2017. Protective pads were attached to the heat shield surface. The heat shield will undergo a thermal cycle test to verify acceptable workmanship and material quality. The test also serves to verify the heat shield's thermal protection systems have been manufactured and assembled correctly. The Orion spacecraft will launch atop NASA's Space Launch System rocket on it first uncrewed integrated flight.
Photographer NASA\ Ben Smegelsky
Date October 23, 2017