The Orion boilerplate test vehicle have been positioned in the well deck of the USS Anchorage in preparation for Underway Recovery Test 2.

At the U.S. Naval Base San Diego in California, the Orion boilerplate test vehicle and cradle have been positioned in the well deck of the USS Anchorage in preparation for Underway Recovery Test 2. A worker moves a piece of the handling fixture that was removed from around the test vehicle. NASA, Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Navy will conduct tests in the Pacific Ocean to prepare for recovery of the Orion crew module on its return from a deep space mission. The second underway recovery test will allow the teams to demonstrate and evaluate the recovery processes, procedures, new hardware and personnel in open waters.

The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is conducting the underway recovery tests. Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The first unpiloted test flight of the Orion is scheduled to launch in 2014 atop a Delta IV rocket and in 2017 on NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett