Project Orion - NASA going to the Moon again

Project Orion - NASA going to the Moon again
1 September 2006
by Rick Donaldson

Yesterday, the National Atomspheric and Space Administration (NASA) announced a contract award to Lockheed Martin for the Orion Project, a prestigious $3.9 billion assignment that marks America's next push into interplanetary travel.

This project, seen as a boon to the space industry will eventually lead us on manned space missions to Mars, sometime later in this century with missions to the Moon being first.

The Orion capsule will be the primary vehicle for NASA's manned space program. Its basic design resembles conical capsules used in the Apollo missions. But the 16.5-foot diameter, 25-ton craft will have room for six astronauts, twice what its predecessors could carry.

The Orion capsule will be launched on Ares, a new generation of rockets designed initially to put it into low earth orbit so it can rendezvous with the International Space Station. A larger version will eventually blast Orion capsules to other planets.

The first manned Orion launch is scheduled for 2014 with a lunar landing expected by no later than 2020. Humans have not set foot on the Moon since Apollo 14 touched down on Earth's nearest neighbor in December 1972.

Lockheed Martin is the worlds largest defense contractor and works with the US government to produce some of the Missile Defense systems now being put in place in the United States and around the world.

Lockheed will conduct most of the engineering work at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and complete the final assembly at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

President Bush asked Congress in January 2004 to set aside an additional $12 billion to fund the first five years of a new era in the space exploration program. The Orion project has come from that plan.

This timing is excellent as the Space Shuttle fleet is going to be retired, as it has been the backbone of NASA's reach into space since 1981. Two shuttles have been lost along with the crews in disasterous explosions. One at lift off, and the other due to a malfunction in the heat tiles that protect the underbelly of the space craft from the heat of reentry.

On January 28, 1986, the Challenger and its seven-member crew were lost 73 seconds after launch when a booster failure resulted in the breakup of the vehicle.

On February 1, 2003 during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere on its 28th mission,Columbia (STS-107), broke up and was destroyed. All seven members of the crew were killed. The Columbia was the first of the Shuttles to fly in space.

NASA to boldly go... with Lockheed Martin
New Scientist ^ | 01 September 2006 | David L Chandler



NASA's new spacecraft to take astronauts back to the Moon and beyond will be built by US aerospace giant Lockheed Martin. The $3.9 billion contract was awarded on Thursday.


The Apollo-like capsules are called Orion and will have separate versions – one to carry astronauts and another dedicated to cargo. They will serve the International Space Station (ISS) after the three remaining space shuttles are retired in 2010, and will carry astronauts to the moon by 2020.
Lockheed Martin beat a consortium of Northrup Grumman and Boeing, which took over Rockwell, the company that built the Apollo vehicles and the space shuttle. Lockheed Martin already builds Atlas and Delta rockets, but has never built a human-rated spacecraft before.


The company did work on NASA's X-33 craft, which was to be a single-stage-to-orbit, fully reusable space plane. But the $1 billion project was cancelled following technical problems. Lockheed Martin vice president John Karas told Associated Press that it would succeed in this project despite its X-33 failure, because "we're not shooting as far".
Early delivery


The work on the Orion capsule will be spread among all 10 of the NASA centres around the US, as well as several subcontractor companies. Final assembly of the vehicles will take place at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.


The contract calls for the vehicles to be ready for a first astronaut-carrying flight in 2014, but NASA officials said the company expects to deliver a finished vehicle earlier. A final target date will be announced after further discussion with the company, says Skip Hatfield, NASA's Orion project manager.


Orion is a conical capsule with the capacity to take six people to the ISS. Modifications will enable four people to journey to the Moon, and further evolution is expected to allow the vehicle to take astronauts to Mars. View a streaming NASA video of how Orion would travel to the Moon (wmv file).
Some parts of the craft will be reusable, Hatfield says. "Obviously, the heat shield will be replaced each mission" because it is designed to burn up during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, he said at a press conference at NASA headquarters. "The question is what degree of reusability you want, and that's what we're studying." It could be as little as removing avionics instruments from the previous craft and installing them in a new shell, he said.


"Apollo on steroids"


The craft is expected to touch down on land, like the Russian Soyuz capsules, rather than in the ocean like the Apollo craft. The Orion capsules are to be carried aloft by new expendable rockets called Ares 1 and Ares 5, to be developed using some space shuttle-derived components.
Some critics, such as Boston-based aerospace consultant Charles Lurio, say the whole Orion programme is little more than a throwback to Apollo-era technology and not a step towards "an affordable and sustainable future for human space exploration". Even NASA administrator Mike Griffin has called the craft "Apollo on steroids".


A report by the US Government Accountability Office in August strongly urged NASA not to award the contract until the design of the vehicle was much more clearly defined (see NASA's plans could hurt Moon and Mars missions here). But NASA decided to go ahead anyway. The contract contains provisions for possible further work after an initial 5-year period, which could ultimately be valued at around $4.25 billion.

I guess I recall Orion was cancelled, though I can't find the information at the moment. Why is it that the UK is coming out with this information and the US news media can't?

The spacecraft that could take man to Mars: Countdown to first test of the Orion spacecraft begins at Kennedy Space Center

• Orion spacecraft will take its first flight in December
• Unmanned flight will take it 3,600 miles above Earth, in a 4.5 hour mission
• Craft will eventually be used to take man to Mars
  

By Mark Prigg
Published: 18:33 EST, 10 June 2014 | Updated: 21:27 EST, 10 June 2014


The spacecraft it is hoped will take man to Mars is about to be tested for the first time.
Nasa’s Orion spacecraft will take its first flight in December.



Today, staff at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida began the final assembly for the test.



Scroll down for video

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The Orion crew module for Exploration Flight Test-1 going through final preparations. In December, Orion will launch 3,600 miles into space in a four-hour flight to test the systems that will be critical for survival in future human missions to deep space.


ORION'S FIRST FLIGHT

Orion is being prepared for its first launch later this year, an uncrewed flight that will take it 3,600 miles above Earth, in a 4.5 hour mission to test the systems critical for future human missions to deep space.


After two orbits, Orion will reenter Earth’s atmosphere at almost 20,000 miles per hour before its parachute system deploys to slow the spacecraft for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.





Engineers began stacking the crew module on top of the completed service module, the first step in moving the three primary Orion elements –crew module, service module and launch abort system – into the correct configuration for launch.



'Now that we're getting so close to launch, the spacecraft completion work is visible every day,' said Mark Geyer, NASA's Orion Program manager.

'Orion's flight test will provide us with important data that will help us test out systems and further refine the design so we can safely send humans far into the solar system to uncover new scientific discoveries on future missions.'



With the crew module now in place, the engineers will secure it and make the necessary power connections between to the service module over the course of the week.


Once the bolts and fluid connector between the modules are in place, the stacked spacecraft will undergo electrical, avionic and radio frequency tests.

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The modules are being put together in the Final Assembly and System Testing (FAST) Cell in the Operations and Checkout Facility at Kennedy.

Here, the integrated modules will be put through their final system tests prior to rolling out of the facility for integration with the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket that will send it on its mission.



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Nasa's Orion spacecraft, illustration shown, is due to complete its first unmanned test flight towards the end of this year. The spacecraft will eventually be able to take four astronauts on missions lasting at least 21 days, although this could be extended with a service module currently being researched and developed by Esa




Orion is being prepared for its first launch later this year, an uncrewed flight that will take it 3,600 miles above Earth, in a 4.5 hour mission to test the systems critical for future human missions to deep space.


After two orbits, Orion will reenter Earth’s atmosphere at almost 20,000 miles per hour before its parachute system deploys to slow the spacecraft for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.



Orion's flight test also will provide important data for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and ocean recovery of Orion.


Engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, have built an advanced adapter to connect Orion to the Delta IV Heavy rocket that will launch the spacecraft during the December test.


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Nasa's Space Launch System (SLS) during launch. The first SLS mission, Exploration Mission 1 in 2017, will launch an uncrewed Orion spacecraft to demonstrate the integrated system performance of the SLS rocket and spacecraft prior to a crewed flight.





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How it compares: The SLS is larger than the Saturn rockets than launched man to the Moon. It will also be more powerful than any rocket in operation today. Russia's super-rocket design has yet to be unveiled. However construction of the first stage of Russia's super-rocket - capable of lifting 80 tonnes - is already underway


The adapter also will be used during future SLS missions. NASA’s Ground Systems Development and Operations Program, based at Kennedy, will recover the Orion crew module with the U.S. Navy after its splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.


Earlier this month Nasa began ramping up excitement for sending humans to Mars, outlining its path to the red planet, and showcasing some of the technologies that will help people get there.



But as revealed in a 286-page National Research Council (NRC) report commissioned by the agency, Nasa has been warned that its efforts will be doomed to fail if it does not change its methods.



The scathing assessment claims that without sufficient funding, a clear goal, or help from nations such as China, Nasa will not be capable of making the next giant leap for mankind.



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Nasa's 'Path to Mars' graphic sets out the steps needed to send humans to an asteroid and Mars by the 2030s





According to the NRC's report, Pathways to Exploration - Rationales and Approaches for a U.S. Program of Human Space Exploration, the U.S. should abandon its 'flexible approach' to human missions beyond Earth, set Mars as its ultimate goal and open the door to partnerships with other partners including China.
NASA'S THREE PATHS TO MARS ACCORDING TO THE NRC


*Note: all three options assume ISS missions have been concluded

Option 1 - A 'giant leap' from moon to Mars

- Return to the moon

- Build a lunar base
- Send humans to the surface of Mars

Option 2 - Least technological risk

- Send humans into lunar orbit
- Visit an asteroid in its own orbit
- Return to the moon's surface

- Explore Martian moons Deimos and Phobos

- Enter orbit around Mars
- Land on the red planet
Option 3 - Nasa's current favoured path

- Robotically capture an asteroid
- Place it in lunar orbit for astronauts to visit
- Travel to the moons of Mars
- Place humans in Martian orbit
- Set foot on Mars




This flexible approach currently involves the construction of a heavy-lift rocket known as the Space Launch System (SLS) and a manned capsule spacecraft called Orion.



Both of these are seen as necessities for future missions beyond low-Earth orbit - but as of yet neither has a solid goal beyond a few test flights leading up to 2021.



The NRC recommends Nasa chooses one of three stepping-stone approaches toward Mars, that build technological know-how through a series of well-defined preliminary missions.



All three options begin with the International Space Station (ISS).


The station is seen as vital in testing not only technologies for long-term space travel, but also the psychological and biological strains that will be felt by astronauts.



However, the report claims Nasa's current plan of operating the ISS into the next decade, possibly as far as 2028, alongside assembling the technologies to land humans on Mars is not feasible.


Continuing on this path 'is to invite failure, disillusionment, and the loss of the longstanding international perception that human spaceflight is something the United States does best,' said the NRC in its report.



Two of the options then involve sending humans back to the moon, something not favoured by the Obama administration.



'I just have to say pretty bluntly here: We’ve been there before,' Obama said in 2010 when outlining Nasa's space policy for the forthcoming years.

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President Obama has repeatedly stated his opposition to returning to the moon (artist's illustration of a cancelled Nasa concept shown), saying we have been there before, and should instead look to do new missions such as sending astronauts to an asteroid and ultimately, of course, exploring the surface of Mars


But these paths would be less technologically daunting, NRC panel co-chairman Jonathan Lunine of Cornell University said.

One suggestion is that Nasa could follow the International Space Station program, which currently costs the United States about £1.8 billion ($3 billion) a year, with a series of lunar sorties - an outpost on the moon and then a mission to Mars, according to the report.
The other moon-based option would follow the space station with human missions to an orbit beyond the moon, then to an asteroid in its native orbit, then to the lunar surface, the moons of Mars, Martian orbit and then to Mars itself.

This would have the most stops en route to Mars, but poses the least technological risk because milestones have to be met along the way, claimed the NRC.

The third path includes Nasa's current plan to robotically capture an asteroid, redirect it into a high orbit around the moon and send astronauts there to explore.

The report suggests that the path should continue with missions to the moons of Mars, then on to Martian orbit, and finally to the surface of the planet.
NASA tests the Orion capsule
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Launch in December 2014


NASA’s Orion Spacecraft is on Schedule to Launch in December

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Thomas Carannante
First Posted: Jun 06, 2014 03:06 PM EDT

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NASA and Lockheed Martin engineers are currently working to have the Orion spacecraft ready for its first-ever launch this upcoming December. On Thursday they installed the largest heat shield ever constructed onto the spacecraft. (Photo : Charles Atkeison)

NASA and Lockheed Martin engineers are currently working to have the Orion spacecraft ready for its first-ever launch this upcoming December. On Thursday they installed the largest heat shield ever constructed onto the spacecraft.
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Future missions for the Orion spacecraft include trips to a nearby asteroid as part of NASA's Asteroid Initiative as well as future spaceflights to Mars, which are expected to take place in the 2030s. The Exploration Flight Test-1 is scheduled for December and it's expected to provide engineers with data about the heat shield's ability to protect crew members on future missions.
"It is extremely exciting to see the heat shield in place, ready to do its job," said Mark Geyer, Orion Program manager at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, in this NASA news release. "The heat shield is such a critical piece, not just for this mission, but for our plans to send humans into deep space."
The spacecraft is built to take humans farther then they've ever been before, with the new features such as emergency abort capabilities, sustaining crew during deep space travel, and providing a safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The rocket that will launch Orion, the Space Launch System, is also a new project that NASA is undertaking, and it's expected to be the most powerful rocket in history.
The first mission that will involve the launch of both the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System is scheduled for 2017, when Orion will be sent around to the far side of the moon and then splash down into the Pacific Ocean during Exploration Mission 1. But the installation of the heat shield is the latest news in the development of Orion, and NASA is pleased with the success.
The heat shield is constructed out of Avcoat - a coating that burns away as it heats up to prevent the transfer of extreme temperatures to the crew module. But heat is not the only concern for the engineers. The Avcoat is covered with a silver reflective tape that protects the spacecraft from extreme cold temperatures of space as well. The engineers will have to wait until the Exploration Flight Test-1 and Exploration Mission 1 to know whether or not the heat shield and its features will be effective in protecting the spacecraft as well as the crew from space's extreme temperatures.
The results of the experiment will be a crucial step for NASA, especially since the National Research Council released a report on Wednesday that deemed NASA's strategy for Mars missions is both unsuitable and unsafe. If the Orion can deliver the desired outcomes, the National Research Council could end up eating their words.
You can read more about the Orion spacecraft on the NASA website.

Clarkson University alumnus to lead first deep space flight since Apollo era

By KATIE ANDERSON
TIMES STAFF WRITER
PUBLISHED: THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2014 AT 12:50 AM
UPDATED: THURSDAY, JUNE 5, 2014 AT 1:07 AM
http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/a...s=201406121050NASA
NASA Atlantis flight director Michael J. Sarafin works the graveyard shift in 2010 during the shuttle’s final flight.



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NASA Atlantis flight director Michael J. Sarafin works the graveyard shift in 2010 during the shuttle’s final flight.






POTSDAM — Since the Apollo era, deep space exploration has been put on hold because of changes in national priorities and funding.


This fall, Clarkson alumnus Michael L. Sarafin will have a major role in NASA’s return to deep space.


Mr. Sarafin will be flight director at the Mission Control Center in Houston and responsible for Orion’s Exploration Flight Test-1 from start to finish.


“It’s the first flight of a brand new program,” he said.


The Orion program began in 2005, after national policy allowed NASA again to pursue exploration of deep space, according to Mr. Sarafin.


He joined the program two years ago.


Orion is the name of a spacecraft that’s been in a final assembly and testing phase at Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Fla., for about a year. Once complete in November, the spacecraft will go to the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 37 for more tests within a month of the actual launch.


Mr. Sarafin said that while there’s no set date for the launch, it probably will happen in late November or early December. He said the 4½-hour unmanned test flight will include two orbits around Earth, one at a low orbit about 200 miles up and one 3,600 miles above Earth, which is 10 times higher than a space station.


“This mission is really to test the design of Orion to make sure it’s safe for humans to travel deep into space,” Mr. Sarafin said.


He said the design is much different from the design in the Apollo era.


“The technology is up to date and the heat shield is a brand new design,” he said. “Also, it’s a larger capsule that can fly four astronauts into space instead of three.”


NASA also will test its high-energy return to Earth at 20,000 miles per hour.


Mr. Sarafin said that if the flight is successful, they will do another unmanned test flight that will last about two weeks.


Then, if successful, they will be ready to send humans into space in Orion.


“Based on funding, we probably won’t be sending humans until 2021,” he said.


Mr. Sarafin said if this fall’s test flight is successful, it will be a highlight of his career.


He’s from Herkimer, and graduated from Clarkson in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering.


“I was in the first class to graduate in their aeronautical program because it was a new program,” he said. “The engineering program established the foundation for everything I needed to learn for my career.”


The test flight mission’s cost is $375 million, and according to Mr. Sarafin, that’s on top of what the program receives annually.


He said that although there are several things that could go wrong, it’s his and his team’s job to be prepared and to ensure a smoothly executed mission.


“It’s an important mission,” he said. “I’m looking forward to seeing Orion fly.”

Launch today.

Made in America.

Built in Colorado.

Go Orion!


4 December 2014 Last updated at 07:05 ET Nasa's Orion 'Mars ship' set for test flight

Comments (270)
By Jonathan Amos Science correspondent, BBC News, Cape Canaveral

A US space capsule that could help get humans to Mars is about to make its maiden flight.


Orion will be launched on a Delta rocket out of Cape Canaveral in Florida on a short journey above the Earth to test key technologies.


The conical vessel is reminiscent of the Apollo command ships that took men to the Moon in the 1960s and 1970s, but bigger and with cutting-edge systems.


Given that this is a first outing, there will be no people aboard.


Nonetheless, the US space agency describes the demonstration as a major event.


Nasa has a window in which to launch Orion of about two-and-a-half hours, which began at 07:05 local time (12:05 GMT).


The launch preparations had to be stopped shortly before the opening of the window because a boat strayed into the eastern part of the launch range. The countdown was held again because of strong winds.


But Nasa says that there are no technical issues with the rocket.


"This is huge; Thursday is a giant day for us," said Nasa administrator Charlie Bolden.
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Orion is being developed alongside a powerful new rocket that will have its own debut in 2017 or 2018.
Together, they will form the core capabilities needed to send humans beyond the International Space Station to destinations such as the Red Planet.
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Lockheed Martin's Orion programme chief Mike Hawes describes the flight profile

For Thursday's flight, the Delta IV-Heavy rocket - currently the beefiest launcher in the world - is being used as a stand-in.
It will send Orion twice around the globe, throwing the ship up to an altitude of almost 6,000km (3,600 miles).
This will set up a fast fall back to Earth, with a re-entry speed into the atmosphere close to 30,000km/h (20,000mph) - near what would be expected of a capsule coming back from the Moon.
It should give engineers the opportunity to check the performance of Orion's critical heat shield, which is likely to experience temperatures in excess of 2,000C (4,000F).
They will also watch how the parachutes deploy as they gently lower the capsule into Pacific waters off Mexico's Baja California Peninsula.
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Although Orion is a Nasa project, the development has been contracted to Lockheed Martin, and the aerospace giant will be running the show on Thursday.
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Astronaut Rex Waldheim says it would be an incredible experience to fly on board Orion

But the US space agency will be there in the background, keen to see that the LM designs meet their specifications.
A good example is the radiation protection built into the capsule. Radiation will be one of the major hazards faced on voyages into deep space, and Orion's systems must cope with the challenge.
"We're going to be flying through parts of the Van Allen radiation belts, since we're 15 times higher than the space station," explained Mark Geyer, Nasa's Orion programme manager.
"The ISS would not have to deal with radiation but we will, and so will every vehicle that goes to the Moon. That's a big issue for the computers. These processors that are now so small - they're great for speed but they're more susceptible to radiation. That's something we have to design for and see how it all behaves."
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The animation shows how the maiden test voyage of Orion should progress

Thursday's mission is but one small step in a very long development programme. Unable to call upon the financial resources of the Apollo era, Nasa is instead having to take a patient path.
Even if today it had a fully functioning Orion, with its dedicated rocket, Nasa would not be able to mount a mission to another planetary body because the technology to carry out surface operations has not been produced yet.
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Nasa's chief scientist Ellen Stofan says the road to Mars requires many more technologies

This worries observers like space historian John Logsdon, who doubts the policy as currently envisaged is sustainable.
He told the BBC: "The first launch with a crew aboard is 2020/21, and then nothing very firmly is defined after that, although of course Nasa has plans. That's too slow-paced to keep the launch teams sharp, to keep everyone engaged. It's driven by the lack of money, not the technical barriers."
One solution is to pull in international partners. Europe, for instance, is going to make the "back end" for all future Orion capsules.
This service module is principally the propulsion unit that drives Orion through space. Prof Logsdon wonders if additional partners might want to pick up some of the other technologies needed to help speed the exploration path.
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/image...0_79326529.jpg A Mars mission with Orion is perhaps still 20 years away

Delays Hold Up Orion Spaceship's First Test on the Road to Mars


 





By Alan Boyle

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A series of delays held up the maiden launch of NASA's Orion capsule on Thursday, adding some extra suspense to the first test of a spacecraft that's designed to take humans farther than they've ever gone — including to Mars.
The planned 4.5-hour mission — known as Exploration Flight Test 1, or EFT-1 — isn't supposed to carry people. It's an uncrewed flight, meant to check critical systems that can't be fully tested on Earth, including the craft's heat shield and parachutes.



The data gathered from more than 1,200 sensors will be factored into the construction of more flightworthy Orion spaceships, with the aim of flying astronauts for the first time in 2021. If NASA holds to its schedule, the cone-shaped spacecraft would send crews to a near-Earth asteroid by 2025, and to Mars and its moons starting in the 2030s.
"We're now on the way to Mars, and that's what's most important," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden told NBC News in advance of liftoff.

NASA Chief: $375M Orion Test Launch is 'BIG'

NBC News

NASA expected more than 20,000 spectators to turn out for the launch, and its astronauts on the International Space Station were watching closely as well.
"It's a thrilling prospect when you think about actually exploring the solar system," station commander Butch Wilmore said from orbit. "Who knows where it will take us, who knows where it will go? We'll find out as time goes forward, but this first step is a huge one."
Last-minute snags


Minutes before the scheduled launch time of 7:05 a.m. ET, NASA said an unauthorized boat was in a restricted area of the range, east of the launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. That forced a 12-minute delay in liftoff.
Just as the countdown resumed, ground winds gusted higher than allowed — which led to another hold. "This is not a show-stopper," launch commentator Mike Curie said. Similarly, mission managers determined that an alarm that flashed due to the delay could be ignored. But a second attempt to start the countdown was stymied once more by high winds blowing in the wrong direction.
The launch team, led by Lockheed Martin, had until 9:44 a.m. ET to proceed with liftoff on Thursday. Friday and Saturday are backup dates.
Orion is being sent into space on a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 Heavy rocket, which is the biggest and arguably the most expensive launch vehicle in America's space fleet. Launch costs account for a significant portion of the $370 million price tag for EFT-1. But the massive rocket is required to loft the 23-ton Orion on a two-orbit trip that will loop out as far as 3,600 miles.

NASA Prepares for Orion Test Flight

NBC News

Orion's flight marks the first time since the Apollo 17 moonshot in 1972 that NASA has sent any kind of spacecraft eventually meant to carry people that far away from Earth.



On the way down, the craft will blaze through the atmosphere at 20,000 mph, or 80 percent of the speed that a craft returning from the moon would experience. The heat shield will have to withstand temperatures as high as 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
The flight plan calls for Orion to splash down in the Pacific Ocean, 600 miles southwest ofoff the coast of Baja California. Two recovery ships and an array of helicopters are stationed to pick up the spacecraft and bring it in to Naval Base San Diego. The Orion craft is due to be trucked back to Kennedy Space Center in Florida by Christmas, NASA officials said.
Years of testing ahead

This Orion is flying without some critical pieces, such as a working launch abort tower and service module. Those components are still being developed, and they'll be integrated into the spacecraft for Orion's next test flight in 2018. That flight, known as Exploration Mission 1 or EM-1, will also mark the first use of NASA's Space Launch System — which will trump the Delta 4 Heavy as the world's most powerful rocket.
EM-1 is due to send an uncrewed Orion around the moon and back, in preparation for the first crewed flight in 2021.

NASA Prepares First Launch of Orion Capsule

NBCNews.com

Some observers have criticized Orion and the SLS rocket as too costly and slow to build. NASA's program manager for the Orion program, Mark Geyer, told NBC News that development costs for the spacecraft amount to about $1 billion a year — and that budgetary rather than technical considerations are driving the development schedule.
Once Orion and SLS are fully tested, NASA is planning to mount one SLS launch per year, and the giant rocket may be used for robotic interplanetary missions as well as crewed exploration missions.
At the same time, NASA is working with U.S. commercial partners on less expensive space taxis that would be used to transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station. The space agency's current scenario calls for SpaceX and the Boeing Co. to begin such flights in 2017, right around the time that the next Orion test is scheduled.

Stray boat, winds delay NASA's Orion spacecraft launch

James Dean, Florida Today 8:20 a.m. EST December 4, 2014

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Here are the five things you need to know about NASA's Orion spacecraft that's headed to Mars. VPC

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Efforts continue to launch NASA's new exploration capsule on its first test flight after a series of delays at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The unmanned Orion capsule is poised to launch for the first time atop a 243-foot United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket.
A planned 7:05 a.m. launch was delayed when a boat strayed into the launch zone, and then a minor technical issue with the rocket was cleared.
New launch times for the $375 million Exploration Flight Test-1 mission were set for 7:17 a.m. and 7:55 a.m., but both times computers automatically stopped the countdown with less than four minutes to go because of strong winds.
Thursday's launch window extends to 9:44 a.m. A new launch time has been set for 8:26 a.m.
The mission aims to loft the test version of the Orion capsule 3,600 miles up during two orbits, setting up a 20,000-mph re-entry through the atmosphere and splashdown in the Pacific four-and-a-half hours after liftoff.
NASA is developing Orion to fly astronauts to deep space destinations including an asteroid and eventually Mars. The first flight with astronauts will happen no sooner than 2021.
NASA anticipated 26,000 guests for the historic send-off — the roads leading into Kennedy Space Center were packed well before dawn — and the atmosphere was reminiscent of the shuttle-flying days. "Go Orion!!" urged a hotel billboard in nearby Cocoa Beach.
Launch commentator Mike Curie noted Thursday was the 16th anniversary of the launch of the first U.S. piece of the International Space Station, by shuttle Endeavour. "That was the beginning of the space station, and today is the dawn of Orion," he said.
Orion is aiming for two orbits on this inaugural run. On the second lap around the home planet, the spacecraft should reach a peak altitude of 3,600 miles, high enough to ensure a re-entry speed of 20,000 mph and an environment of 4,000 degrees. Splashdown will be in the Pacific off the Mexican Baja coast, where Navy ships already are waiting.
NASA's Mission Control in Houston was all set to oversee the entire 4½-hour operation. The flight program was loaded into Orion's computers well in advance, allowing the spacecraft to fly essentially on autopilot. Flight controllers could intervene in the event of an emergency breakdown.
The spacecraft is rigged with 1,200 sensors to gauge everything from heat to vibration to radiation. At 11 feet tall with a 16.5-foot base, Orion is bigger than the old-time Apollo capsules and, obviously, more advanced. As NASA's program manager Mark Geyer noted, "The inside of the capsule is totally different."
NASA deliberately kept astronauts off this first Orion.
Managers want to test the riskiest parts of the spacecraft — the heat shield, parachutes, various jettisoning components — before committing to a crew. The earliest Orion might carry passengers is 2021; asteroids are on the space agency's radar sometime in the 2020s and Mars, the grand prize, in the 2030s.
Lockheed Martin Corp., which is handling the $370 million test flight for NASA, opted for the powerful Delta IV rocket this time around. Future Orion missions will rely on NASA's still-in-development megarocket known as SLS, or Space Launch System. The first Orion-SLS combo launch is targeted for 2018.
NASA's last trip beyond low-Earth orbit in a vessel built for people was Apollo 17 in December 1972.
Contributing: The Associated Press

Delayed

Scientists at NASA have DELAYED a TEST FLIGHT of an American spaceship designed to fly humans beyond Earth's orbit for the FIRST time in more than 40 years.

The U.S. space agency said the countdown for the Orion spacecraft had been suspended due to strong winds.

No word yet on whether the maiden voyage has been canceled, however there's less than one-and-a-half hours left before the launch window closes.

The unmanned capsule, built by Lockheed Martin, was to lift off from Cape Canaveral on Thursday morning.

The current timetable shows astronauts will join Orion's third flight in 2021, with the ultimate goal of sending the first human expedition crew to Mars.

Stray boat stalls NASA's Orion test launch

Associated Press, AP 7:28 a.m. EST December 4, 2014

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA's new Orion spacecraft has to wait a little longer to fly.
The countdown for Thursday morning's launch was halted temporarily, with just four minutes remaining, because of a stray boat in the launch-danger zone and a rocket issue.
Liftoff had been scheduled for 7:05 a.m. NASA has 2 ½ hours to launch the unmanned Delta IV (four) rocket from Cape Canaveral. On board is Orion, a capsule meant to usher in a new era of human exploration for NASA. It's the first test flight for the spacecraft.
NASA tweeted that the new launch time is scheduled for 7:17 a.m.