NASA's Orion Spacecraft

The first test flight of NASA's Orion Spacecraft

The Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle was originally part of NASA's Constellation Program which was cancelled in 2010. However, the design was carried forward as the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (Orion MPCV), as part of NASA's new plans for manned exploration to the Moon, Mars and asteroids.

The first test flight is in 2014.* For this particular mission, the capsule is unmanned. Nevertheless, it reaches a higher altitude than any spacecraft intended for human use since 1973. Orion makes two highly elliptical orbits of the Earth, before re-entering the atmosphere and splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.

This test supports the development of the Space Launch System – a new dedicated rocket, which itself will be tested in 2017. The first manned flight of Orion will occur in the 2020s, depending on Nasa's future funding.*

Referemces

Exploration Flight Test-1 Animation, NASA:
http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=119820481
Accessed 25th November 2011.

2014 test flight for Nasa's Orion spaceship, BBC:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-15644238
Accessed 25th November 2011.