Spaceflight

Orion crew exploration vehicle arrives at NASA Dryden Flight Research Center

By Rob Coppinger

A full-scale flight-test mock-up of NASA's Constellation programme's Orion crew exploration vehicle has arrived at the US space agency's Dryden Flight Research Center in California.

At NASA Dryden, flight computers, instrumentation and other electronics will be installed. It is being prepared for the Orion's launch abort system's first short-range flight test, which will occur at the US Army's White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico later this year.

Fabricated at NASA's Langley Research Center, the mock-up is representative of Orion's expected final size, outer shape and mass characteristics.

The mock-up was ferried to Edwards AFB, which is co-located with Dryden, on a US Air Force Boeing C-17 Globemaster on 28 March. At Edwards the capsule was painted before its short transfer to Dryden's facilities.

© NASA