A crane lifts a replica Launch Abort System off its trailer so it can be placed atop a mockup Orion capsule. Photo credit: NASA/Charisse Nahser Crane operators, technicians and engineers practiced lifting and stacking techniques this week as they moved a 6-ton replica escape rocket called the LAS, for Launch Abort System, from a trailer to the top of a mockup Orion capsule. Though stacking the real thing for a Space Launch System mission is still a few years off, engineers said performing the task now, using the same procedures and demands that will accompany the actual assembly, helps them anticipate difficulties ahead of time. Read the full story here. |
The LAS replica stands on the mockup Orion capsule inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Charisse Nahser |
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