YUMA, AZ – A test space capsule is safely aboard a military C-17 aircraft, ready to be dropped from 25,000 feet on Wednesday morning. The drop will test NASA's parachute system for the Orion space program.
"Parachutes are very complex. It's not like a wind tunnel where you can put a piece of hardware into a known set of conditions and get a good data set from it. So, unfortunately, we have to do a very rigorous set and sequence of tests in order to put the parachute through the various types of conditions that it could experience on any given day," explains NASA Aerospace Engineer, Chris Johnson.
According to Johnson, Orion is the next vehicle NASA is building to explore deep space, capable of supporting multi-day missions to asteroids, the moon and Mars.
People from NASA, the military and the Airport Authority gathered to watch the loading process. After some careful maneuvering, the test capsule was safely aboard, ready for Wednesday morning's test drop.
Johnson says Yuma provides an efficient combination of resources for NASA. Those resources include the Yuma Proving Ground, Yuma International Airport and an abundance of wide open space.
Wednesday's test will be the fifth in a series of 18 ... Designed by NASA to determine the reliability of this parachute system. The first unmanned Orion mission is scheduled to lift-off in about two years.
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