NASA’s replacement for the space shuttle is in choppy seas at the moment and, for once, this isn’t a metaphor for budget problems.

The Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle is undergoing tests in the Atlantic, the first ocean tests of a full size US-spacecraft since the 60s according to Space.com.

Rather than landing like a plane in the fashion of the space shuttle, Orion capsules will splash down in the ocean, so NASA is sea-ing what happens when they’re afloat.

“They’re looking for different types of sea conditions so they can report back how the capsule behaves,” NASA spokesperson Amber Philman told Space.com.

Image: NASA