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.
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 U.S.S. 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@nasa.gov by 5 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 4.
To learn more about Orion and Exploration Flight Test-1, visit:
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Amber Philman
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
amber.n.philman@nasa.gov
Stephanie Schierholz
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
stephanie.l.schierholz@nasa.gov
Brandi Dean
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
brandi.k.dean@nasa.gov