NASA’s Orion spacecraft: Completion of Parachute Jettison Tests

A test version of NASA’s Orion spacecraft touches down in the Arizona desert after its most complicated parachute test to date. 

Image Credit: NASA

Engineers testing the parachute system for NASA's Orion spacecraft increased the complexity of their tests Thursday, Jan. 16, adding the jettison of hardware designed to keep the capsule safe during flight.

The test was the first to give engineers in-air data on the performance of the system that jettisons Orion's forward bay cover.

The cover is a shell that fits over Orion's crew module to protect the spacecraft during launch, orbital flight and re-entry into Earth's atmosphere.

When Orion returns from space, the cover must come off before the spacecraft's parachutes can deploy. It must be jettisoned high above the ground in order for the parachutes to unfurl.

Mark Geyer

"This was a tough one," said Mark Geyer, Orion program manager.

"We'd done our homework, of course, but there were elements here that could only be tested in the air, with the entire system working together."

"It's one of the most complicated tests that we'll do, so we were all excited to see it work just as it was meant to."