Jay Clemens
NASA‘s engineers have completed work on the crew module on the Lockheed Martin-built Orion spacecraft, a move the agency says marks the end of work on all major components of Orion.
The engineers attached the crew and service modules to the adapter and deliver the spacecraft to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for ammonia and hyper-propellant fueling in preparation for the flight test, NASA said Thursday.
“The crew module is undoubtedly the most complex component that will fly in December,” said Mark Geyer, Orion Program manager.
NASA will evaluate Orion’s critical safety systems during December’s flight tests.
NASA, Lockheed and United Launch Alliance managers managed the transfer of the spacecraft on Thursday from the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building to the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at Kennedy.
Engineers will attach the launch abort system after fueling is complete in order to make sure the spacecraft is ready for stacking on the Delta IV Heavy rocket, the agency says.
The inert service module and the launch abort system components were completed in January and December, respectively, and the crew module was connected to the service module in June for testing before the completion.
