NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

MEDIA ADVISORY : 11-070 NASA Opens New Testing Facility for Future Space Vehicles HAMPTON, Va. -- The media are invited to attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new $1.7 million Hydro Impact Basin facility at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. Media are also invited to tour the facility and the hardware.

The new water basin is located at the historic gantry, where Neil Armstrong first trained to walk on the moon. The water basin expands NASA Langley's capabilities to include water impact, landing and recovery testing and will be used to certify any future spacecraft for water landings.

What: The water basin is 115-feet long, 90-feet wide, 20-feet deep and holds one million gallons of water. Testing to support NASA's new deep space exploration vehicle, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), began this summer at the facility. NASA Langley engineers performed three successful drop tests of a 22,000-pound Orion MPCV test article. NOTE: There is not a drop test scheduled during the ceremony.

WHEN: Tuesday, Aug. 9, at 9:30 a.m.

WHERE: NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va., 23681, Gantry

WHO: Guest speakers will include:

• Lesa Roe, Director, NASA Langley Research Center
• Mark Kirasich, Deputy Manager, Orion MPCV Project Office, NASA Johnson
• U.S. Representative Rob Wittman (R-Va. 1st District)
• U.S. Representative Bobby Scott (D-Va. 3rd District)
• Virginia Secretary of Technology Jim Duffey
• Hampton City Mayor Molly Ward
• Doug Cook, Vice President & General Manager, Jacobs Technology-ROME Group

RSVP: To ensure access and badging, the deadline to respond is no later than 8 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 9. Respond to Amy Johnson by phone (757-272-9859) or by email (amy.johnson@nasa.gov). Media must arrive no later than 9:00 a.m. with proper identification to be escorted onto the center. To attend the tour, media must also have proper attire, which includes closed-toe shoes.

Imagery: Video and still imagery that documents ground breaking through various stages of testing is available for your use, and can be accessed at:

www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/exploration/hib.html

Video: Please go to the following web site and enter in the username and password.

SITE: https://webdrive.gsfc.nasa.gov/longauth/500/gary.banziger-1/cjw4a4C
USERNAME: WaterBasinDrop
PASSWORD: WaterBasinDrop

For more information about NASA, visit www.nasa.gov.

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