Orion capsule replica splashes down at NASA Langley

HAMPTON, VIRGINIA — A full-scale replica of the next-generation Orion crew spacecraft, tipped at a 90-degree angle, hung from cables 40 feet in the air from the huge, historic gantry at NASA Langley Research Center.

At the close of a 15-second countdown, the capsule swung left.

Then, with a loud bang of explosive release bolts, the nearly 7-ton capsule dropped with an impressive splash into the Hydro Impact Basin.

It shot a wave washing toward media cameras and a small host of onlookers — engineers, soldiers, children, local politicians, congressional staffers, journalists and others — gathered to witness Thursday's splash-test for a capsule designed to carry U.S. astronauts farther than they've ever gone before: to Mars, asteroids and other deep-space missions.
.
Read more: http://www.dailypress.com/news/science/dp-nws-orion-splash-test-media-20160826-story.html