WASHINGTON, D.C. - A full-scale mockup of NASA's Orion crew module is being tested in water under simulated and real landing weather conditions as part of the Constellation Program designed to return astronauts to the moon and beyond. A Navy-built, 18,000-pound Orion mockup is being tested in a pool at the Naval Surface Warfare Center's Carderock Division in West Bethesda, Md. Ocean testing will begin April 6 off the coast of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (Source: NASA, 03/25/09) Gulf Coast note: Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans and Stennis Space Center in Mississippi are both involved in the Constellation Program.
