April 15, 2008 Grey Hautaluoma Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0668 grey.hautaluoma-1@xxxxxxxx Emily Outen Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. 757-864-7022 emily.s.outen@xxxxxxxx Jennifer Morcone Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. 256 544-7199 Jennifer.J.Morcone@xxxxxxxx RELEASE: 08-101 NASA COMPLETES FIRST FULL-SCALE MOTOR TEST FOR ORION SPACECRAFT WASHINGTON -- NASA has completed the first full-scale rocket motor test for the Constellation Program's Orion spacecraft, a test of a solid rocket that will be used to jettison the craft's launch abort system. Now under development, Orion will be America's next human spacecraft, designed to fly to the International Space Station and be part of a space flight system to return humans to the moon. The Orion jettison motor will separate the craft's launch abort system from the Orion crew module during launch. The Orion launch abort system is a larger solid rocket motor system that will provide a safe escape for the crew in an emergency on the launch pad or during the climb to orbit. The test completed late last month is a critical milestone in NASA's preparations for a series of flight tests planned to begin late this year of the full Orion abort system. "This was a major success for the Orion launch abort system team," said Mark Cooper, NASA's integrated product team lead for launch abort system propulsion at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. "The test provided valuable data on motor performance that will allow design and analytical refinements by our contactor team. The test is the culmination of intense and focused work by the entire jettison motor team." The jettison motor static test firing was conducted by Aerojet Corporation in Sacramento. NASA has partnered with Lockheed Martin Corporation, Orbital Sciences Corporation, and Aerojet to supply the jettison motor. NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., manages the Orion launch abort system design and development effort with partners and team members from Marshall. For still and video imagery to accompany this release, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/constellation For more information about NASA's plans to return to the moon and go beyond, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/exploration -end- To subscribe to the list, send a message to: hqnews-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To remove your address from the list, send a message to: hqnews-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
