Module for Orion built

Airbus Defense and Space, prime contractor for NASA's Orion space vehicle's European Service Module (ESM), has completed four large titanium tanks for the module. The tanks are the first hardware to be supplied for the Orion space vehicle. The tanks will be transported to Italy, where the structural test model will be assembled before being tested in the United States. The primary goal of these initial tests is to verify whether the structural components can withstand the enormous loads. The next step is to build the engineering model that will be assembled and tested at Airbus Defense and Space in Bremen, Germany. (Source: Space Daily, 09/25/15) Gulf Coast note: Orion is assembled at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, which is also building the core state of the Space Launch System that will launch Orion; engines for the SLS are tested at Stennis Space Center, Miss.