The first vertical drop test of the Orion test article at NASA Langley's Hydro Impact Basin, Thurs., Aug. 23.
After six months of testing, an 18,000 pound (8,165 kg) Orion mockup took its final splash into NASA's Hydro Impact Basin on Jan. 6.
The eighth water landing test of the Orion test article in the Hydro Impact Basin.
The Orion test article took its seventh splash into the Hydro Impact Basin Dec. 1.
An Orion media day gave NASA the opportunity to show off its researchers and Hydro Impact Basin facility.
Engineers conducted the first test as part of Phase 1 of the Orion boilerplate test article at NASA's Langley Research Center, on Oct. 18.
NASA Langley's most visible link to the future of space exploration became a part of its most visible link to the center's space past Tuesday when a ribbon was cut to signify that the Hydro Impact Basin was open for business.
NASA's 22,000-lb mockup of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle begins water landing certification tests.
The principle is the same one that allows a kid to swing from a bank into a pond on a long rope hanging from a tree to beat the summer heat.
In a matter of hours, one million gallons of water filled a giant reservoir that will play a critical role in NASA's future human space flight efforts.
On June 8, NASA Langley will break ground on a $1.7 million Hydro Impact Basin that will serve to validate and certify that future space vehicles.
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