A mock up of the 18,000-pound Orion deep

A mock up of the 18,000-pound Orion deep space exporation vehicle is lifted at a high impact pitch of 43-degrees and lifted high enough on the gantry to allow it on release to swing at 47 MPH(76.6 kph) into a pool of water January 6, 2012, to simulate all parachutes being deployed and landing in a worse case senario in rough seas at the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. This type of extreme angle landing isn't likely to occur but is an essential part of thourgh testing. The Orion would eventually be launched by a Delta IV heavy rocket and the multi-destination deep-space crew vehicle is currently slated to visit a asteroid. The US space agency has already spent $5-billion(USD) on the capsule and it's first orbital flight test is scheduled for early 2014. AFP Photo/Paul J. Richards (Photo credit should read PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty Images)