04/16/2009
First Weld Completed on NASA's Orion Test Article Using NCAM's UWS2

On April 16, a milestone occurred at the National Center for Advanced Manufacturing (NCAM) in support of NASA’s Constellation Program.

The first weld on an Orion crew module ground test article was completed on NCAM's new Universal Welding System #2 (UWS2) by Lockheed Martin engineers at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans. The weld was performed using Friction Stir Weld technology.

The completed gound test article will be a full-size crew module that will be subjected to flight-like environments, thereby helping to validate production processes.

Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor to NASA for the Orion crew exploration vehicle. The Orion project is managed by NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Image top left: NCAM's UWS2 is used to create the first weld on the Orion ground test article. Image credit: Lockheed Martin.

Image bottom left: Technicians watch the weld tool head of NCAM's UWS2 conduct the first friction stir weld on the Orion crew module ground test article. Image credit: Lockheed Martin.