NASA successfully checks parachute failure landing on replica Orion spacecraft in Yuma desert

In a bid to check an ability of replica Orion spacecraft to land safely in case of emergency, NASA has tested partial spacecraft on Friday.

Replica Orion spacecraft was dropped from an Air Force transport aircraft to a southwestern Arizona desert site.

Under this, researchers deliberately failed one parachute on the Orion spacecraft. Notably, the Orion spacecraft managed to land properly with the help of other two working parachutes.

Jim McMichael, a NASA systems engineer, said the 10-ton (10.16-metric ton) replica was "sitting perfectly upright" after bouncing once when it landed at the Yuma Proving Ground, an Army installation.

The Orion spacecraft has been designed to carry four astronauts deep in the space.

The test which happened on Friday was the fifth in a series of eight Orion parachute tests that began in 2016 and it will end in late 2018.

According to the McMichael, the replica Orion spacecraft has the same weight and width as the actual spacecraft but shorter so it would fit in the C-17.

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