Engineers and technicians from NASA Langley Research Center in Virginia, Kennedy Space Center in Florida and Lockheed Martin in Colorado conduct a fit check at NASA Langley in preparation for the Orion stationary recovery test taking place in August at the Naval Station Norfolk port facility in Norfolk, Va.
The fit check verified that the Orion spacecraft test article would fit on the USS Mesa Verde after being recovered from the water.
Testing will simulate the recovery of the Orion crew module in the Pacific Ocean during the Exploration Flight Test-1 mission in September 2014. Orion’s first unmanned mission will fly the spacecraft approximately 3,600 miles above the Earth’s surface. After the test flight, Orion will return to Earth at a speed of approximately 20,000 mph. Orion will then land in the water and be recovered.
Credit: NASA/David C. Bowman