Reporters Invited to See Orion, Speak with NASA Managers at Navy Days-Los Angeles

[NASA News Releases <hqnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

July 31, 2014 Reporters Invited to See Orion, Speak with NASA Managers at Navy Days-Los Angeles A test version of NASA's new Orion spacecraft will be at the Port of Los Angeles on Wednesday, Aug. 6, following testing with the U.S. Navy. Media are invited from 6 to 9 a.m. PDT to see the craft and learn about NASA's deep space exploration plans, which include sending astronauts to an asteroid and Mars. At the U.S. Naval Base San Diego in California, the Orion boilerplate test vehicle and support hardware are loaded into the well deck of the USS Anchorage for Underway Recovery Test 2 on July 29, 2014. NASA, Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Navy will conduct tests in the Pacific Ocean to prepare for recovery of the Orion from a deep space mission. This recovery test will allow the teams to demonstrate and evaluate the recovery processes in open waters. The first flight test in space for Orion is scheduled for December 2014. Image Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett A combined NASA and Navy team is practicing recovering Orion from the ocean, as they will do in December following the spacecraft's first trip to space during Exploration Flight Test-1. After traveling 3,600 miles above Earth -- farther than any spacecraft built for humans has been in more than 40 years -- Orion will return at speeds near 20,000 mph for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean where a Navy ship will pick it up and return it to shore. Following the recovery tests, which take place Aug. 1-4 off the coast of San Diego, the test version of Orion will be transported to Navy Days–Los Angeles. Media will have the opportunity to view Orion, talk with NASA representatives, and tour the USS Anchorage. Representatives available for interviews include: NASA Orion Program Manager Mark Geyer NASA Ground Systems Development and Operations Program Manager Mike Bolger NASA Space Launch System Program Manager Todd May Lockheed Martin Orion Deputy Program Manager Larry Price NASA Astronaut Nicole Stott To attend this event and receive detailed directions, reporters must contact Brandi Dean at brandi.k.dean@xxxxxxxx by 5 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 4. To learn more about Orion and Exploration Flight Test-1, visit:          http://www.nasa.gov/orion -end- Stephanie Schierholz Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100 stephanie.l.schierholz@xxxxxxxx Brandi Dean Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 brandi.k.dean@xxxxxxxx NASA news releases and other information are available automatically by sending an e-mail message with the subject line subscribe to hqnews-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. To unsubscribe from the list, send an e-mail message with the subject line unsubscribe to hqnews-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.     › Back To Top