(Washington, DC) –This morning, NASA successfully completed the first fully integrated flight test of the launch abort system being developed for the Orion crew vehicle. The test is part of an ongoing program to ensure the safety of the vehicles being developed for future human space flight and exploration missions. The test was conducted at the Orion Abort Flight Test Launch Complex at the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range near Las Cruces, N.M.
Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee Chairwoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) congratulated NASA, “Today’s successful flight test is just the latest key milestone that NASA’s exploration team has achieved in developing the systems we will need to minimize the human space flight gap and send Americans beyond low Earth orbit. I want to congratulate the NASA and commercial contractor team on its accomplishment—made even more impressive by the very challenging environment in which the team has had to work. It is my goal that the United States remains the leader in human spaceflight. Today’s successful test is an important step forward, and I look forward to many more successes in the years ahead.”
For more information on the Committee’s work on NASA, visit the Committee’s website.