The Orion crew module is being moved by crane from its crew module recovery cradle and will be placed in the crew module transportation fixture at the Mole Pier at Naval Base San Diego in California. The fixture has been secured on the back of a flatbed truck. Orion is being prepared for the overland trip back to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Orion was recovered from the Pacific Ocean after completing a two-orbit, four-and-a-half hour mission Dec. 5 to test systems critical to crew safety, including the launch abort system, the heat shield and the parachute system. NASA, the U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin coordinated efforts to recover Orion. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program led the recovery, offload and pre-transportation efforts.

ESA’s ministerial meeting and the maiden flight of NASA’s Orion deep-space capsule capped a topsy-turvy 2014 — a year marked by controversy and failures — on a positive note.

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