Sept 9, 2011

Michael Braukus/J D Harrington Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1979/5241 michael j braukus@nasa gov/j d harrington@nasa gov

Josh Byerly Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 josh byerly@nasa gov

RELEASE: 11-297

DEEP SPACE CAPSULE COMES ALIVE WITH FIRST WELD; MAJOR PROGRESS MADE ON NATION'S NEW SPACE EXPLORATION PLAN

NEW ORLEANS -- Construction began this week on the first new NASA spacecraft built to take humans to orbit since space shuttle Endeavour left the factory in 1991, and marked a significant milestone in carrying out the ambitious exploration vision President Obama and Congress have laid out for the nation

Engineers at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans started welding together the first space-bound Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle "The Orion team has maintained a steady focus on progress, and we now are beginning to build hardware for spaceflight," said Orion Program Manager Mark Geyer, NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston

"This marks a major milestone in NASA's ambitious plans to send humans farther into space than the nation has ever been before," said NASA spokesman David Weaver, Headquarters, Washington "We're not only working to send people into deep space, we are putting people to work right here in America "

The first welds were completed Friday using an innovative new friction stir welding process, developed especially for Orion construction The process creates a seamless, leak-proof bond that has proven stronger and higher in quality than can be achieved with conventional welding

After welding is completed at Michoud, the Orion spacecraft orbital test article will be shipped to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where the heat shield will be installed At Kennedy, it will undergo final assembly and checkout operations for flight

A picture of Friday's work is available at:

http://go nasa gov/OrionWeld

To learn more about the development of Orion, visit:

http://www nasa gov/exploration/systems/mpcv

For more information about what's next for NASA, visit:

http://www nasa gov/next

-end-

To subscribe to the list, send a message to: hqnews-subscribe@mediaservices nasa gov To remove your address from the list, send a message to: hqnews-unsubscribe@mediaservices nasa gov

The following information is a reminder of your current mailing list subscription:

You are subscribed to the following list: [list_name]

using the following email: example@example.com

You may automatically unsubscribe from this list at any time by visiting the following URL:

https://aus-city com/cgi-bin/dada/mail cgi/u/NASA_REPORTS/example/example com/

If the above URL is inoperable, make sure that you have copied the entire address Some mail readers will wrap a long URL and thus break this automatic unsubscribe mechanism

You may also change your subscription by visiting this list's main screen:

<[program_url]/list/[list]>

If you're still having trouble, please contact the list owner at:

<mailto:[list_owner_email]>

The following physical address is associated with this mailing list:

[physical_address]