WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

An aerial view near NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex reveals the Orion crew module, enclosed in its crew module transportation fixture and secured on a flatbed truck that is proceeding onto the NASA Causeway that leads to the entrance gate to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Orion made the 2,700 mile overland trip from Naval Base San Diego in California. The spacecraft was recovered from the Pacific Ocean after completing a two-orbit, four-and-a-half hour mission Dec. 5 to test systems critical to crew safety, including the launch abort system, the heat shield and the parachute system. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program led the recovery, offload and transportation efforts. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion