SAN DIEGO (KGTV)- For the first time in decades, NASA is moving closer to sending people to the moon, or even Mars. Naval Base San Diego is playing a key role in that process.
This week the USS John P. Murtha left Naval Base San Diego to test recovery efforts of NASA’s mock Orion capsule.
“We’re going to ensure that once it comes down, once it hits that water, that everything from then on is totally safe,” says Retired Navy Pilot and President of the San Diego Air & Space Museum Jim Kidrick.
The amphibious ship sends a crew into the Pacific Ocean, then uses smaller boats to guide the capsule back to the USS Murtha.
The Orion has an environmental control system, a heat shield that can withstand 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit, radiation control and parachutes. NASA says the first recovery test aboard the USS Murtha was a success.
“By the time they put people in that capsule its going to work flawlessly.” Naval Base San Diego will be removing the Orion test model from the USS Murtha and putting in on display tomorrow.
10News will be there to give you a personal look at the capsule.
