Spectacular Photos: NASA Practices Orion Space Capsule Recovery at Sea

11/16/2018

Sunset Rendezvous

During a few days on the Pacific Ocean's open waters, NASA tested recovery procedures for its Orion capsule, which is meant to someday carry humans to the moon — and even on to Mars. The procedure, called Underway Recovery Test-7 (URT-7), was meant to check the systems that will help agency staff bring home the capsule and its crewmembers. During the test, NASA worked with the U.S. Navy and its ship the USS John P. Murtha, which is visible on the left in this image taken on Nov. 1, 2018.

A Dazzling Sunset

As the sun sets on the horizon, NASA's Recovery Team and the U.S. Navy practice recovering a test version of the Orion space capsule as part of Underway Recovery Test-7 (URT-7) in the Pacific Ocean on Nov. 1, 2018.

Retrieval

Earlier in the maneuvers, on Oct. 30, the NASA team watched an Orion test capsule being collected by the USS John P. Murtha.

Eyes in the Water

During the tests, NASA had U.S. Navy divers standing by, prepared to offer an at-sea perspective on the Orion capsule and its performance.

At Sea

U.S. Navy divers caught a ride on a small boat being lowered from the main body of the USS John P. Murtha. The divers were heading out to gather data about the test ocean landing of an Orion capsule.

Inspection Time

Travis Methany, who works for Jacobs, an aerospace-technology contracting company that works with NASA, looks over the test Orion capsule before it is placed in the well deck of the USS John P. Murtha.

Check the Books

For Underway Recovery Test-7 (URT-7), Tracy Parks, an expert with the Jacobs contracting group, acted as the recovery operations integrator. Here, she reviews the process on the deck of the USS John B. Murtha, with a test Orion capsule in the background.

Tug of War

U.S. Navy personnel take care of the tending lines, which are used to pull the Orion capsule into the ship's well deck, with NASA recovery experts looking on.

Incoming!

It may look like an alien landing capsule, but it isn't — it's just the Orion test capsule being pulled into the USS John P. Murtha's well deck after dark on Nov. 1.

Preparations

Divers with the U.S. Navy prepared their boat for another excursion on the Pacific Ocean during the Orion test process.

Night Sail

During a night test of the Orion capsule-recovery process, U.S. Navy divers prepare to row out of the USS John P. Murtha's well deck.

Bringing Astronauts Home

The Underway Recovery Test-7 (URT-7) wasn't just designed to test whether the team can recover equipment, of course. The Orion capsule will have astronauts on board, and they'll need to be brought in to safety. That means that the test process included simulations of bringing in and tending a human strapped to a gurney.

The "Front Porch"

Navy divers practiced assembling the inflatable "front porch" onboard the USS John P. Murtha during the tests. When a crewed Orion capsule lands, astronauts will have the choice of staying in the capsule during its retrieval or exiting via this "front porch," which is then assembled on the open ocean into a boat.

How Much Water?

The water level inside the USS John P. Murtha's well deck can be controlled, but that means it needs to be monitored, as recovery team personnel do here.

LLAMAs Galore

The recovery process for the Orion capsule requires plenty of rigging lines and winch lines, like the one being managed by Jose Martinez, an instrumentation engineer with Jacobs, in this image. Personnel working on the test refer to these lines as line load attenuation mechanism assemblies, or LLAMAs.

Heading Out

Divers with the U.S. Navy prepare to leave the well deck of the USS John P. Murtha on Nov. 1 during the Orion recovery testing process.

Starting a Test

The test Orion capsule just before its release into open water on Nov. 1 during a recovery test held by NASA and the U.S. Navy on the Pacific Ocean.

Expert Supervision

Recovery engineer Milt Heflin, who served during the Apollo era as well, looks on during the Orion recovery testing procedures.

Attaching the Collar

Divers working for the U.S. Navy circled the test capsule with an inflatable collar as part of the recovery tests. In this photo, the capsule sports two orange bags that help it orient properly, but the real thing will sport five of them.