NASA's Orion Program Begins Fairing Testing with Mixed Results
NASA’s Orion Program First Fairing Separation Test Provides Data To Validate Design, NASA
“NASA is carrying out a series of tests to ensure the agency’s Orion spacecraft can successfully jettison its protective fairings, or covers, during its ride to space. During the first of these tests, two of the three fairing panels separated as planned, but a third didn’t.”
Interesting
“Unlike conventional rocket fairings, Orion’s are designed to support
half of the weight of the crew module and launch abort system during
launch and ascent, which will maximize the size and capability of the
spacecraft that can be delivered to orbit.”