Launch conditions are never easy so engineers at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston have already begun simulations of the first crewed launch of the Orion spacecraft on the agency's new megarocket, the Space Launch System (SLS).
Inside a JSC lab this month, NASA's human factor engineers combined the many aspects of an Orion-SLS launch for the first time. During the tests, subjects wore modified versions of the advanced crew escape suits future Orion astronauts will wear, and sat in the latest seat design for the spacecraft in order to experience what a launch might be like. [Orion: NASA's Next Spaceship in Pictures]
"This was the first time this key hardware was brought together to evaluate how launch vibrations may impact the astronaut's ability to view the displays and controls," NASA officials wrote in an image description. "While Orion's late 2018 mission will be uncrewed, engineers are hard at work performing all the necessary evaluations to make sure the spacecraft is ready for crewed missions beginning as early as 2021."
The Space Launch System is NASA's new launch vehicle designed to launch crews of up to four astronauts on deep-space missions. The system offers more payload mass and volume in addition to an evolvable configuration for future deep-space missions.
Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original story on Space.com.
Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.
