ksc_20181101_ph_awg01_0057_large.jpg U.S. Navy divers prepare to attach the "front porch" to a test version of the Orion capsule on Nov. 1, 2018, as part of Underway Recovery Test-7 (URT-7) in the open water of the Pacific Ocean. Nearby is the USS John P. Murtha. Orion was towed into the ship's well deck. There are two large, orange mockup uprighting bags in this view, but when Orion actually splashes down there will be five. URT-7 is one in a series of tests that the Exploration Ground Systems Recovery Team, along with the U.S. Navy, are conducting to verify and validate procedures and hardware that will be used to recover the Orion spacecraft after it splashes down in the Pacific Ocean following deep space exploration missions. Orion will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. Credits: NASA/Tony Gray

Media are invited to see a test version of NASA’s Orion spacecraft, as well as the hardware that will be used to recover the spacecraft on its return from space, at 8:30 a.m. PST on Tuesday, Nov. 9, at Naval Base San Diego. Team members involved with recovery operations from NASA and the Department of Defense will be available to speak with media.

In preparation for Artemis I, NASA’s upcoming mission that will send an Orion spacecraft beyond the Moon, the agency and the U.S. Navy will conduct their final certification run for recovery of the spacecraft from the Pacific Ocean following its first uncrewed flight. This test is part of a series to demonstrate and evaluate the processes, procedures, and hardware used in recovery operations.

Media interested in attending must contact Naval Base San Diego Public Affairs at nbsd.pao@navy.mil or 619-556-7359 by noon, Monday, Nov. 8. All media must arrive no later than 7:30 a.m. at Gate 6A, the commercial vehicle inspection gate, just south of the Main Gate off of Harbor Drive and 32nd Street.

Orion is America’s exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to deep space destinations, including the Moon and then on to Mars.

For more information about Exploration Ground Systems, visit:

www.nasa.gov/groundsystems

For more information about Orion, visit:

www.nasa.gov/orion

-end-

Press Contacts

Kathryn Hambleton
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
kathryn.hambleton@nasa.gov

Madison Tuttle
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-298-5868
madison.e.tuttle@nasa.gov

Laura Rochon
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281- 483-5111
laura.a.rochon@nasa.gov

To subscribe to NASA Kennedy Space Center News:
Send an e-mail to ksc-join@newsletters.nasa.gov (no text is required in the subject or body of the e-mail).

To unsubscribe to NASA Kennedy Space Center News:
Send an e-mail to ksc-leave@newsletters.nasa.gov (no text is required in the subject or body of the e-mail).