Tag: Orion
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Orion’s crewed asteroid mission unlikely to occur prior to 2024
The proposed mission to send two astronauts to a captured asteroid near the Moon won’t occur until the middle of the next decade, according to an overview provided to NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP). Designated as Exploration Mission -2 (EM-2), it is likely alternative missions will be tasked to Orion and her Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, prior…
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US Navy ready to support EFT-1 Orion’s splashdown
While public attention is focused on the upcoming launch of the Exploration Flight Test -1 (EFT-1) Orion, the US Navy is preparing for the spacecraft’s splashdown at the conclusion of the test mission. The USS Anchorage and the USNS Salvor will be involved in the first of the three contracted Orion returns that will be spread…
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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…