Orion Docking Hatch Evaluation

Engineers and astronauts conduct testing in a representative model of the Orion spacecraft at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on July 28, 2016 to gather the crew’s feedback on the design of the docking hatch and on post-landing equipment operations.
While the crew will primarily use the side hatch for entry and exit on Earth and the docking hatch to travel between Orion and a habitation module on long-duration deep space missions, the crew will need to be able to exit out of the docking hatch if wave heights in the Pacific Ocean upon splashdown are too high. The work is being done to help ensure all elements of Orion’s design are safe and effective for the crew to use on future missions on the journey to Mars. Image Credit:

NASA / Radislav Sinyak Date Created: 2016-07-28 NASA ID: jsc2022e045008 Larger image