HAMPTON, Va., March 12 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency said it is ready to conduct the first flight test of an escape system designed for the Constellation Program's Orion crew capsule.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration said it has completed production of hardware for use in the test of the astronaut escape system. The hardware -- a structure that simulates the Orion crew module -- was designed and fabricated at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.

The structure represents the size, outer shape and mass characteristics of the space capsule being designed to transport astronauts first to the International Space Station then on to the moon by 2020.

The initial developmental flight test, called Pad Abort-1, will focus on the ability of Orion's launch abort system to pull the crew capsule safely away from the launch vehicle in the event of problems on the launch pad or during the climb into orbit.

Planned for late this year, the test is the first in a series of un-crewed abort flight trials to test the new system.