Orion Space Capsule Splashdown Test [Video]

Though an unmanned flight of NASA’s Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle is still at least two years away, that doesn’t mean there’s not science to be done! Engineers are currently testing the Orion’s splash down capabilities at NASA’s Langley facility the only way they know how: Hoisting the capsule up and dropping it into a giant pool. The plan is once the craft clears this and other safety tests, it will replace the retiring Space Shuttle as the primary crew vehicle for the United States.

Here’s hoping we’ll see this craft splashing down for real in the very near future.

(via Twitter)