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181101-N-N0101-0017
181101-N-N0101-0017 PACIFIC OCEAN (Nov. 1, 2018) The test version of the Orion capsule is about to be released into the open water as part of Underway Recovery Test-7 (URT-7) aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26), Nov. 1, 2018. During recovery operations, future astronauts aboard Orion will have the choice to stay in the capsule while it is pulled into the well deck of a U.S. Navy ship or be pulled out immediately and put on the "front porch" until taken by small boat back to the ship. URT-7 is one in a series of tests to verify and validate procedures and hardware that will be used to recover the Orion spacecraft after it splashes down in the Pacific Ocean following deep space exploration missions. Orion will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. (U.S. Navy photo courtesy NASA/Released)