Joseph Matus -- an engineer at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. -- recently was honored for his work on critical flight hardware for the Orion spacecraft's first flight test, Exploration Flight Test-1.

The adapter will connect the Orion spacecraft with a Delta IV rocket for the launch later this fall. The adapter, designed and built at the Marshall Center, is complete and ready to be shipped ahead of that maiden flight.

Matus, originally from Little Falls, N.Y., received a special commendation award for leading the effort to design, build, test, qualify and deliver the stage adapter. He served in that role from October 2011 to September 2013.

Matus earned his bachelor's degree in 1985 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is now the assistant chief engineer for NASA'sDiscovery/New Frontiers Programat the Marshall Center. He identifies and resolves high-level technical issues and provides technical insight into various projects within the program.

During Orion's first trip to space, the spacecraft will travel 3,600 miles above Earths surface before re-entering the atmosphere traveling approximately 20,000 mph at temperatures near 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

The uncrewed flight will provide engineers with important data about Orion's heat shield and other elements, including the adapters performance before it is flown in 2017 as part of the first Space Launch System (SLS) mission. SLS, NASA's new rocket, will be capable of powering humans and support systems to deep space. It has the greatest capacity of any launch system ever built, minimizing cost and risk.

The flight adapter will be delivered in April from Marshall to United Launch Alliance's facility in Decatur, Ala. The company is constructing the Delta IV rocket for Orions first flight. From there, it will travel by ship to Cape Canaveral, Fla.

To watch a video of the adapter's journey to completion, clickhere.

For more information on Orion, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/mpcv/

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Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Alum Joseph Matus Awarded for Work on Flight Hardware for Orion's First Flight Test