First Orion Spacecraft Arrives in Florida

On Monday, July 1, engineers at the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC), in Florida, took possession of the first Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle that will actually fly to space. The vehicle will undergo final preparations here, ahead of a planned 2014 launch date.

According to officials from the American space agency, more than 450 guests were on sight to witness the arrival of the spacecraft, NASA's first new design in many decades. The MPCV will be able to carry up to 7 astronauts to destination in low-Earth orbit (LEO), to the Moon, Mars and beyond.

By 2025, the US National Space Policy signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2010 calls for the space agency to put a human crew on a near-Earth asteroid. By the mid-2030s, a crew must also land on the surface of the Red Planet. The MPCV will be used for both these goals.

When normal operations begin, the capsule will use the newly-designed Space Launch System (SLS) rocket NASA is currently working on. However, the vehicle is not scheduled to take its maiden flight until at least 2017. Orion will use a ULA Delta IV Heavy rocket for its 2014 flight.

The delivery of the first space-worthy MPCV marks an extremely important moment in the effort to put the United States back on the map, in terms of ambition in space exploration. This capsule was designed to reach farther into space than possible before.

“Orion's arrival at Kennedy is an important step in meeting the president's goal to send humans to an asteroid by 2025 and to Mars in the 2030s,” NASA Deputy Administrator, Lori Garver, said as the first MPCV arrived.

“As NASA acquires services for delivery of cargo and crew to the International Space Station and other low-Earth destinations from private companies, NASA can concentrate its efforts on building America's next generation space exploration system to reach destinations for discovery in deep space,” she added.

“Delivery of the first space-bound Orion, coupled with recent successes in commercial spaceflight, is proof this national strategy is working,” the official said further. The Orion will be capable of carrying a varied number of astronauts, depending on the mission profile and needs.

The Exploration Flight Test-1 that NASA scheduled for 2014 will be unmanned. The spacecraft will be sent to an orbit that is 15 times higher than that currently occupied by the International Space Station, after launching from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), next door to the KSC.

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