EFT-1 Update: Orion Gets Its Back Shell...

Engineers inside the Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida recently installed the black back shell to the Orion capsule that will fly in this December's Exploration Flight Test (EFT)-1 demonstration. Reminiscent of the thousands of thermal tiles that enshrouded the retired space shuttle orbiters, the back shell is one of the last few items that need to be installed onto Orion (the Launch Abort Motor should be attached to the spacecraft soon) prior to it being transported to the nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for mating onto a Delta IV Heavy rocket that will send Orion into space for its maiden journey. EFT-1 is currently scheduled to launch at 8:03 AM, Eastern Standard Time (5:03 AM, Pacific Standard Time), on December 4.


NASA