NASA completes water impact testing of Orion spacecraft

US space agency NASA has revealed recently that the final series of tests of the water impact of the 18,000-pound test version of the Orion spacecraft has been completed at the Langley Research Center in Hampton, VA.

The tests were carried out at the 115 feet long, 90 feet wide and 20 feet deep Hydro Impact Basin, which is located at the famous Landing and Impact Research Facility where the moonwalk training of the Apollo astronauts was held.

The testing of the Orion test craft involved a number of swings and vertical drops of Orion's test version - which was of the same size and weight of the Orion craft - and simulated several water landing situations which the spacecraft will probably encounter when it lands in the Pacific Ocean.

The different landing scenarios tested for the Orion - which is scheduled to take off for itsfirst flight test, designated Exploration Flight Test 1, in 2014 - included varying velocities, entry angles, wave heights, wind conditions, and parachute deployments.

With the final testing of Orion's water impact having been completed successfully, the late next year-scheduled next round of Orion testing will reportedly involve the use a full-sized model which was built by NASA for the purpose of validating the production processes and tools of the flight vehicle.