URT - Day Three

The Orion boilerplate test vehicle is secured in the well deck of the USS San Diego at the U.S. Naval Base San Diego in California on Feb. 20, 2014. Orion was transported about 100 miles offshore for an underway recovery test. NASA and the U.S. Navy conducted tests to prepare for recovery of the Orion crew module, forward bay cover and parachutes on its return from a deep space mission. The underway recovery tests allow the teams to demonstrate and evaluate the recovery processes, procedures, hardware and personnel in open waters. Part of Batch image transfer from Flickr.