It took a team of divers, handlers and spacecraft specialists from NASA, the U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin to pull Orion from the sea following the spacecrafts successful flight test and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Read about the work performed Dec. 5 to secure Orion inside the USS Anchorage before bringing the spacecraft back to shore to begin its cross-country road trip back to Florida. http://go.nasa.gov/1Gpq7CJ

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President Obama, speaking to the Senior Executive Service, recognized Julie Kramer White, Orions chief engineer, for the successful Orion flight test. He also noted the spacecrafts mission, saying that when a human is the first to set foot (on Mars), they will have Julie and her team to thank and at that point, Ill be out of the presidency and I might hitch a ride.

Heres Julies bio:http://women.nasa.gov/julie-kramer-white

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The Orion spacecraft was off-loaded from the well deck of the USS Anchorage Monday night after the amphibious ship docked in San Diego. The ships crew along with NASA and Lockheed Martin teams retrieved the spacecraft from the Pacific Ocean at the end of the highly successful Orion flight test that saw the Orion fly about 3,600 miles above Earth in a 4.5-hour evaluation of critical systems and mechanisms including jettison events and the ability of the heat shield to stand up to temperatures of 4,000 degrees F. Next up for Orion, a trip cross-country back to NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Photo credit: NASA

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An MH-60 helicopter flies over the Orion as recovery teams move in to retrieve the spacecraft.

Orion is expected to be off-loaded from the USS Anchorage today at Naval Base San Diego today following its recovery Friday aftersplashdown in the Pacific Ocean. The spacecraft is nestled inside the well deck of the amphibious ship during the trek from its splashdown point about 600 miles southwest of San Diego.

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