Tag: Orion
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Photos: Orion’s rollout to the pad
On Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, NASA’s next-generation Orion crew capsule made a six-hour trek from a processing building to launch pad 37B where the United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket awaits liftoff of the test flight Dec. 4 . Photo credit: Walter Scriptunas II
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NASA’s first Orion capsule delivered to launch pad
Orion passes the VAB. Credit: Walter Scriptunas II CAPE CANAVERAL — NASA’s Orion spacecraft took a road trip to the launch pad Tuesday night, arriving at Cape Canaveral’s Complex 37 where a Delta 4-Heavy rocket awaits flight of the new capsule on Dec. 4. The unmanned Exploration Flight Test No. 1 will send Orion around…
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Weather delays Orion move to pad
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER — Bad weather has delayed by 24 hours NASA’s next-generation Orion capsule from rolling out to the launch pad for its flight test next month. The move is rescheduled for Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m. EST. Orion is headed to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Complex 37B where a United Launch Alliance…
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Video: Orion EFT 1 animation
Mike Sarafin, NASA’s lead Orion flight director, narrates animation depicting the Exploration Flight Test 1 from liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket to splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
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Video: Preview of Orion’s recovery
Jeremy Graeber, Orion recovery director, details how the NASA-Navy team will handle the Exploration Flight Test No. 1 after it splashes down in the Pacific Ocean.
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Video: Learn about the Orion flight test launching in December
NASA flight director Mike Sarafin describes the timeline of Orion Exploration Flight Test 1, the crew capsule’s first space mission set for launch Dec. 4 on a United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket. The test flight will verify the craft’s heat shield, computers and avionics, and key separation events to be used on piloted missions…
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Delta 4 passes countdown rehearsal before Orion launch
The Delta 4-Heavy rocket set to launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft undergoes a countdown rehearsal at Cape Canaveral on Wednesday. CAPE CANAVERAL — A countdown dress rehearsal and rocket fueling exercise was completed Wednesday at Cape Canaveral for next month’s launch of NASA’s Orion crew module atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy booster. Known as…
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Engineers recommend changes to Orion heat shield
The Orion crew module for Exploration Flight Test 1 — set for launch Dec. 4 — is seen before attachment to its service module. The heat shield is covered in a reflective silver tape that protects it from the extreme cold temperatures of space. Credit: NASA Lessons learned during preparations leading up to the first…
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SLS manifest targets Europa and Mars Sample Return missions
NASA is moving up a gear with its manifest planning for the Space Launch System (SLS). A new internal manifest portrays a tag team approach, alternating SLS between crewed missions for Orion and major flagship science missions that includes sending a spacecraft to Europa and conducting a Mars Sample Return mission, all before the middle…
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EFT-1 Orion completes assembly and conducts FRR
The stars are aligning for the December 4 debut mission of NASA’s Orion spacecraft, following the completion of the Flight Readiness Review (FRR) – albeit with three “actions” to satisfy ahead of flight. The vehicle also completed all assembly tasks and is almost ready to meet up with her Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle for…