March 5, 2008

Stephanie Schierholz/Grey Hautaluoma
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-4997/0668
stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov, grey.hautaluoma-1@nasa.gov

Emily Outen
Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.
757-864-7022/272-9859
emily.s.outen@nasa.gov

MEDIA ADVISORY: M08-052

MEDIA INVITED TO SEE HARDWARE BUILT TO TEST ASTRONAUT ESCAPE SYSTEM

HAMPTON, Va. - Reporters are invited to see a mock-up of the
Constellation Program's Orion crew vehicle at NASA's Langley Research
Center on Wednesday, March 12. The simulated capsule will be used in
the first short-range flight test of the spacecraft's astronaut
escape system. Project managers from Langley and NASA's Johnson Space
Center in Houston will be available to brief media.

Engineers at Langley fabricated the structure, which precisely
represents the size, outer shape and mass characteristics of the
Orion space capsule. Part of NASA's fleet of next generation
spacecraft, Orion is being designed to take astronauts to the
International Space Station and later to the moon.

After testing is complete at Langley, the crew module will be shipped
to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif., for
further test preparations, including installation of flight
computers, instrumentation and other electronics. Dryden will send
the completed module to the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range in
New Mexico, where it will be integrated with the escape system for
the abort flight test in late 2008.

Media interested attending the presentation and briefing should
contact Emily Outen by noon, March 11, at 757-864-7022, 757-272-9859
or 757-344-7211.

NASA's Image of the Day Gallery for March 5 features the mockup. View
the picture at:

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/imagegallery/image_feature_1033.html

For more information about NASA's Constellation Program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/constellation