[meteorite-list] NASA Completes Key Milestone for Orion Spacecraft in Support of Journey to Mars

[Ron Baalke]

September 16, 2015

RELEASE 15-185

NASA Completes Key Milestone for Orion Spacecraft in Support of Journey to Mars

NASA's mission to send astronauts to deep space destinations where no other 
human has traveled has taken another important step forward with the 
completion of a critical milestone for the Orion spacecraft currently in 
production. 

Agency officials have completed a rigorous technical and programmatic review, 
confirming continued support of the program and establishing NASA's 
commitment to the program's technical, cost, and schedule baseline. This is 
the first time NASA has reached this level of progress for a spacecraft 
designed to take humans into deep space beyond the moon, including to an 
asteroid placed in lunar orbit and on the journey to Mars.

"Our work to send humans out into the solar system is progressing," said 
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "Orion is a key piece of the flexible 
architecture that will enable humanity to set foot on the Red Planet, and we 
are committed to building the spacecraft and other elements necessary to make 
this a reality."

A successful test of an uncrewed Orion capsule, Exploration Flight Test-1 
(EFT-1), flew in December 2014, providing important data that allowed 
engineers to identify risks associated with deep space flight and re-entry 
and use that knowledge to improve the design of Orion for its next test 
flights, Exploration Missions 1 and 2 (EM-1 and EM-2).

Performance data has helped to improve manufacturing processes, as well. 
Engineers have already incorporated many of these improvements into elements 
of the EM-1 design, including the crew compartment or pressure vessel, which 
now is in fabrication and assembly at companies across the country. The 
vessel is comprised of seven panels or sections, and the first two of these 
were welded together last week. When complete, this capsule will launch 
on NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on the first fully integrated 
flight test, EM-1.

Astronauts will fly on Orion for the first time on EM-2. That mission will 
build on the results of the EM-1 flight with additional requirements that the 
Orion capsule includes fully integrated environmental control and life 
support systems; controls; and communications designed specifically for the 
human operation; and advanced launch and re-entry spacesuits for the crew. 
The recent review, culminating in what is known within NASA as Key Decision 
Point C (KDP-C), includes all of these technological advancements, and 
approval represents agency support for this work and the Orion program plan.

The decision commits NASA to a development cost baseline of $6.77 billion 
from October 2015 through the first crewed mission (EM-2) and a commitment to 
be ready for a launch with astronauts no later than April 2023. The 
commitment is consistent with funding levels in the president's budget 
request. Conservative cost and schedule commitments outlined in the KDP-C 
align the Orion Program with program management best practices that account 
for potential technical risks and budgetary uncertainty beyond the program's 
control.

"As we take these steps to develop the capabilities we need to send 
astronauts deep into space, we're also aligning how we manage our human 
exploration systems development programs to ensure we are prepared for 
unforeseen future hurdles," said Robert Lightfoot, NASA associate 
administrator. "We're committing to this funding and readiness level to 
stay on the journey we've outlined to get to Mars."

Orion engineers now are executing a rigorous review of the spacecraft's 
engineering design and technical progress of the vehicle systems and 
subsystems. This critical design review (CDR) will demonstrate Orion is ready 
to proceed to full-scale fabrication, assembly, integration and testing. 
NASA's SLS Program recently completed this milestone, and its Ground 
Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program will begin its review this 
fall.

"The Orion Program has done incredible work, progressing every day and 
meeting milestones to prepare for our next missions," said William 
Gerstenmaier, the agency's associate administrator for Human Exploration 
and Operations at NASA Headquarters. "The team will keep working toward an 
earlier readiness date for a first crewed flight, but will be ready no later 
than April 2023, and we will keep the spacecraft, rocket and ground systems 
moving at their own best possible paces."

In the coming months, Orion will complete its CDR; see the arrival of a test 
version for the European Space Agency-provided service module at NASA's 
Plum Brook Station near Sandusky, Ohio; perform a series of parachute tests; 
and complete the welding of the crew pressure vessel. Although Orion's 
readiness date for EM-1 was not formally part of the KDP-C milestone 
commitment, engineers continue to work toward a commitment for SLS and GSDO 
to be ready for the uncrewed mission in fall 2018, and NASA will set an 
integrated launch date after GSDO's critical design review is completed.

For more information about Orion, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/orion


-end-