Orion Underway Recovery Test for EFT-1

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The USS San Diego heads out to sea with the Orion boilerplate test vehicle and other hardware in its well deck for an underway recovery test. A crane is used to lower a rigid hull inflatable boat into the water. About 100 miles offshore, NASA and the U.S. Navy conducted tests to prepare for recovery of the Orion crew module, forward bay cover and parachutes on its return from a deep space mission. The underway recovery test will allow the teams to demonstrate and evaluate the recovery processes, procedures, hardware and personnel in open waters. During the testing, the tether lines were unable to support the tension caused by crew module motion that was driven by wave turbulence in the well deck of the ship. NASA and the U.S. Navy are reviewing the testing data collected to evaluate the next steps. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program conducted 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/Cory Huston