Next-gen spacecraft stops at Holloman

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Sanjay Allen
  • 49th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  NASA's next generation of a manned-spacecraft arrived here Aug. 19 via a C-17 Globemaster III and left aboard a tractor-trailer Aug. 21 for White Sands Missile Range to conduct final checkouts with the launch abort rocket.

Holloman was a vital stop in the Orion Program's Pad Abort One Crew Module's trip to White Sands because of the base's close proximity to WSMR and its ability to receive aircraft with heavy cargo.

"It would have been pretty much impossible to get this capsule out here if we were unable to land at Holloman," said Jeff Doughty, Pad Abort One Flight Test Vehicle crew chief.

The base's reliable support also helped in the decision to bring the module through here.

"We've received excellent support from (Holloman)," said David McAllister, Dryden Flight Research Center lead of operations for the abort flight test. "We feel like we're at home when we're here."

Holloman was just one leg in the spacecraft's journey to White Sands. It was built at NASA Langley, Va., and flown to Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., to have the avionics and instrumentation installed. When that was completed, it made its way to Holloman for its final destination at a launch site on WSMR for testing.

Mr. Doughty said the module is going to White Sands to demonstrate that it can be taken away from the launch pad ensuring astronauts can get away from the pad in the event of an emergency.

Billed as the shuttle replacement program for NASA, the Orion Program is designed to take the next generation of astronauts to space. It is the entire effort to go to Mars, including everything from its stop here until the capsule splashes down in the ocean after it returns from Mars.

NASA is expecting the Orion to blast into orbit toward the end of 2014 or early 2015.