[meteorite-list] NASA's New Orion Spacecraft Completes First Spaceflight Test

[Ron Baalke]

December 5, 2014
     
NASA's New Orion Spacecraft Completes First Spaceflight Test

Major Milestone on Agency's Journey to Mars

NASA marked a major milestone Friday on its journey to Mars as the Orion 
spacecraft completed its first voyage to space, traveling farther than any 
spacecraft designed for astronauts has been in more than 40 years.

"Today's flight test of Orion is a huge step for NASA and a really 
critical part of our work to pioneer deep space on our Journey to Mars," 
said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "The teams did a tremendous job 
putting Orion through its paces in the real environment it will endure as we 
push the boundary of human exploration in the coming years."

The United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASA's Orion 
spacecraft mounted atop, lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's 
Space Launch Complex 37 at at 7:05 a.m. EST, Friday, Dec. 5, 2014, in 
Florida.

Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

Orion blazed into the morning sky at 7:05 a.m. EST, lifting off from Space 
Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on a United 
Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket. The Orion crew module splashed down 
approximately 4.5 hours later in the Pacific Ocean, 600 miles southwest of 
San Diego.

During the uncrewed test, Orion traveled twice through the Van Allen belt 
where it experienced high periods of radiation, and reached an altitude of 
3,600 miles above Earth. Orion also hit speeds of 20,000 mph and weathered 
temperatures approaching 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit as it entered Earth's 
atmosphere.

Orion will open the space between Earth and Mars for exploration by 
astronauts. This proving ground will be invaluable for testing capabilities 
future human Mars missions will need. The spacecraft was tested in space to 
allow engineers to collect critical data to evaluate its performance and 
improve its design. The flight tested Orion's heat shield, avionics, 
parachutes, computers and key spacecraft separation events, exercising many 
of the systems critical to the safety of astronauts who will travel in Orion.

On future missions, Orion will launch on NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) 
heavy-lift rocket currently being developed at the agency's Marshall Space 
Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. A 70 metric-ton (77 ton) SLS will send 
Orion to a distant retrograde orbit around the moon on Exploration Mission-1 
in the first test of the fully integrated Orion and SLS system.

"We really pushed Orion as much as we could to give us real data that we 
can use to improve Orion's design going forward," said Mark Geyer, Orion 
Program manager. "In the coming weeks and months we'll be taking a look 
at that invaluable information and applying lessons learned to the next Orion 
spacecraft already in production for the first mission atop the Space Launch 
System rocket."

A team of NASA, U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin personnel aboard the USS 
Anchorage are in the process of recovering Orion and will return it to U.S. 
Naval Base San Diego in the coming days. Orion will then be delivered to 
NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where it will be processed. The 
crew module will be refurbished for use in Ascent Abort-2 in 2018, a test of 
Orion's launch abort system.

Lockheed Martin, NASA's prime contractor for Orion, began manufacturing the 
Orion crew module in 2011 and delivered it in July 2012 to the Neil Armstrong 
Operations & Checkout Facility at Kennedy where final assembly, integration 
and testing were completed. More than 1,000 companies across the country 
manufactured or contributed elements to Orion.

For more information about Orion, its flight test and the Journey to Mars, 
visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/orion 

and

http://go.nasa.gov/1pVQu0S 

-end-

Rachel Kraft
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
rachel.h.kraft at nasa.gov 

Brandi K. Dean
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
brandi.k.dean at nasa.gov 

Michael Curie
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
michael.curie at nasa.gov