Orion in the Well Deck After Splashdown and Recovery

NASA's Orion spacecraft is secured with tether lines inside the flooded well deck of the USS Anchorage in the Pacific Ocean about 600 miles off the coast of San Diego, California. After lifting off at 7:05 a.m. EST atop a Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, Orion completed a two-orbit, four-and-a-half hour mission to test systems critical to crew safety, including the launch abort system, the heat shield and the parachute system. NASA, the U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin coordinated efforts to recover Orion after splashdown. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is leading the recovery efforts.