Workers on the deck of NASA's Liberty Star ship and in a boat prepare to begin testing of an Orion flight test capsule.

Workers, on the deck of NASA's Liberty Star ship and in a boat in the Atlantic Ocean, prepare to begin testing of an Orion flight test capsule.

The Crew Module Recovery Attach Fitting Test (CRAFT) on the capsule, which began at-sea operations Nov. 29, is under way. Multiple attach clips are being evaluated against the current recovery cleat configuration by U.S. Air Force pararescue jumpers (PJs) and a U.S. Navy diver. The 21st Century Ground Systems Program will use data collected from the tests to help develop ground operations support equipment that could be used to recover an uncrewed Orion flight test capsule after splashdown. The Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle is NASA's next-generation spacecraft being developed for deep space missions to asteroids, moons and other interplanetary destinations throughout the solar system. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston