KSC-2013-1573

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A mockup of the Launch Abort System, or LAS, is positioned atop a boilerplate Orion capsule and replica service module during test stacking operations inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Orion spacecraft is being designed to carry astronauts on missions beyond Earth orbit. It will have the LAS during the first part of launch in case an emergency develops that requires the spacecraft to be pulled away from the rocket to save the crew. NASA's Ground Services Development and Operations Program, or GSDO, performed the test operations. Photo credit: NASA_Charisse Nahser