Orion Crew Module: First Look

It's a non functional mockup used only for fitting gear.

The lifesize Orion crew module was build by engineers at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center's Fabrication Branch. No, this aluminum mockup won't actually be flying. It won't even be used for aerodynamic testing. It's just going to help engineers figure out how to cram everything in.

As the engineers are developing the various avionics systems, instrumentation, wire harness routing, etc, they'll want a life-size mockup of the module to test how things fit together. Eventually, you can imagine future astronauts crawling inside, and giving engineers their feedback on the placement of the instrumentation, the feel of the controls, and cushiness of the seats.

This mockup will help engineers until the first abort flight test vehicle, called "Boilerplate 1" arrives for testing. This next testing vehicle is a flying simulator that will mimic the flight characteristics of the actual vehicle. Boilerplate 1 will have the same mass, dimensions, and aerodynamic properties of the Orion capsule, so it can be tested in wind tunnels and atop rockets.