The Orion crew module for Exploration Flight Test-1 is shown in the Final Assembly and System Testing (FAST) Cell, positioned over the service module just prior to mating the two sections together. The FAST cell is where the integrated crew and service modules are put through their final system tests prior to rolling out of the Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for integration with its rocket. Technicians are in position to assist with the final alignment steps once the crew module is nearly in contact with the service module. In Dec., Orion will launch 3,600 miles into space on a four-hour flight to test the systems that will be critical for survival in future human missions to deep space. (NASA/Rad Sinyak)With just six months until its first trip to space, NASA’s Orion spacecraft continues taking shape at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Engineers began stacking the crew module on top of the completed service module Monday, the first step in moving the three primary Orion elements––crew module, service module and launch abort systems – into the correct configuration for launch.

“Now that we’re getting so close to launch, the spacecraft completion work is visible every day,” said Mark Geyer, NASA’s Orion Program manager. “Orion’s flight test will provide us with important data that will help us test out systems and further refine the design, so we can safely send humans far into the solar system to uncover new scientific discoveries on future missions.”