Orion team prepares the parachute test vehicle for the final drop test which will qualify Orion's parachutes for human flight. On September 12, 2018 an Orion test capsule will be dropped from a C-17 aircraft at an altitude of more than six miles to verify the spacecraft’s complex system of 11 parachutes, cannon-like mortars, and pyrotechnic devices work in sequence to slow the capsule’s descent for a safe landing on Earth. Photo: NASA / Rad Sinyak #nasa #orion #parachute #droptest #cpas #spaceflight #systems #engineering #exploration #usarmy #yuma #provingground #aircraft #spacecraft