Adler Planetarium Displays Orion Rocket Mock-Up
CHICAGO (CBS) - An Orion rocket mock-up is on display Tuesday outside the Adler Planetarium.
The 45-foot-long system is known as the Launch Abort System (LAS) Pathfinder. NASA and Lockheed Martin have brought it to Adler for three days in celebration of World Space Week.
The system is designed to pull the Orion crew module away from the launch vehicle during an emergency on the pad or while climbing to orbit.
The mock-up is stopping in Chicago and other cities on a trip from the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It was used in New Mexico to prepare for a May abort flight test.
The mock-up is on display outside the Adler by the Sundial Plaza. Chicago native and Orion Deputy Project Manager Mark Kirasich and other members of the Orion team are on hand to talk about the LAS Pathfinder and the Orion program, according to the Planetarium.
A large flatbed trailer is transporting the mock-up cross-country.
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