Brown Applauds Launch of Orion Spacecraft
More Than 80 Workers from Ohio’s NASA Facilities Helped Pave the Way for Mars Visit with Successful Completion of Mission
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) applauded the launch of NASA’s Orion spacecraft from Cape Canaveral in Florida today. More than 80 workers from Ohio’s NASA Glenn Research Center helped build and test the Orion spacecraft. The spaceflight is an important step for future manned spaceflights and a manned mission to Mars.
“Workers at NASA Glenn Research Center - at Lewis Field and Plum Brook Station - are at the front lines of developing ground-breaking and life-changing technologies,” Brown said. “It’s remarkable to see that knowledge and know-how translated to such an inspiring mission. Orion’s mission today is an important step toward bringing astronauts into deep space and I look forward to continued progress.”
Cleveland’s NASA Glenn Research Center employees worked on structures, mechanisms, and propulsion systems. The spacecraft is expected to achieve two full orbits and reach a height of more than 3,600 miles above the Earth – exposing it to significant cosmic radiation. This altitude will be 15 times higher than the International Space Station. The primary goal of the mission is to test three critical systems: guidance, navigation, and control; the heatshield, and the parachutes. NASA plans to test the next version of the Orion spacecraft at Plum Brook Station, inside the Space Power Facility.
In May 2011, Brown led the Ohio Congressional delegation in a letter to then-Administrator Charles Bolden, urging NASA to use both Lewis Field and Plum Brook facilities in the design and test of Orion.
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