Here, at NASA Langley's Landing and Impact Research Facility, astronauts and engineers are already working to test the flight capabilities of a model that will eventually become the agency's future Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle.
This photograph shows the model landing in a pool of water after "swinging across the sky," according to NASA, and reaching speeds of up to 50 mph following a traditional "5 ... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... release" countdown.
View more Pictures of the Day.
Image: NASA.
Nicholas Jackson is an associate editor at The Atlantic, where he oversees the Health channel. A former media aggregator for Slate, he has also worked for Encyclopaedia Britannica, Texas Monthly and other publications.
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