NASA Dryden Research Facility

In my last post, I showed some of the aircraft (real and mockups) that are scattered about the Edwards Air Force Base and NASA Dryden Research Facility.  But they also have spacecraft they’re working on too – after all, this is NASA.  Here are a few more photos and brief explanations:

 
  This is the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV), used by NASA astronauts to practice landing the Apollo Lunar Module on the moon.  This is one of the actual vehicles used, not a mockup.
 
This is a sign posted by the LLRV, explaining its significance. Its just so cool to be able to walk right up to something like this.  
 
  At Dryden, they’re testing the new Orion spacecraft in various abort parameters. This is the life-size mockup they’re using – with yours truly standing in front and obstructing the view.
 
This is the top of the Orion mockup – and is where the parachutes (and other things) are stored. These are the parachutes which are deployed to help soft-land the module.  

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(Again, click on any of the picture thumbnails to see a larger version of the picture)