Nasa’s Orion exploration capsule has completed final assembly and testing at Nasa’s Launch Abort System Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, US.
The final assembly included installing Ogive panels that will protect the crew module from harsh vibrations during launch and ascent.
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Lockheed Martin Orion programme manager Michael Hawes said: "An empty shell of a spacecraft arrived to Kennedy Space Center two years ago, and now we have a fully assembled Orion standing 72ft tall."
"We’re ready to launch it into space and test every inch."
Fasteners were also installed on Orion, to secure the panels which are covered with a thermal protection coating.
Orion was rotated into the proper orientation to integrate with the Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle and was placed onto the transport pallet.
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By GlobalDataA fairing purge test was also carried out to determine the amount of dry gas to be pumped into the space between the Ogive panels and the spacecraft.
The spacecraft will be placed at the Launch Abort System Facility until it is moved to launchpad 37 in November.
The rocket and spacecraft will be integrated and powered up in the coming days, and interfaces between them will be verified as part of preparations for Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) on 4 December.
During the EFT-1 mission, the spacecraft will travel around 3,600 miles into space and will return to Earth at a speed of more than 20,000 miles per hour.
Data accumulated will facilitate engineers to validate spacecraft designs of the spacecraft before it begins carrying humans to deep space.
Image: A fully assembled Orion stands 72ft tall inside the Nasa’s Launch Abort System Facility. Photo: courtesy of Lockheed Martin Corporation.
