NASA’s Orion Blog – Your Gateway to Orion News

We’re cutting the ribbon this week on our new Orion Blog to bring you the most up-to-date, official news and status on the development, flight testing and operations of NASA’s Orion spacecraft which is being designed and built to carry astronauts on deep space missions in the future to an asteroid and eventually to Mars. The Orion teams at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Kennedy Space Center in Florida and at other centers throughout the agency are preparing for the first flight test in December, a two-orbit, four-hour mission that will see an Orion spacecraft launched on a Delta IV-Heavy rocket without a crew so that engineers can evaluate its heat shield and other critical systems.

The mission calls for Orion to fly some 3,600 miles above Earth to achieve the speeds needed to test the heat shield in conditions approaching the demands of a return from deep space. It’s a fascinating flight profile that NASA has not flown with a human-rated spacecraft since Apollo. So check back here on the Orion Blog often and we’ll do our part to let you know what is going on with America’s newest spacecraft for human space exploration!

22 thoughts on “NASA’s Orion Blog – Your Gateway to Orion News”

  1. Congrats on the blog sight. Its good to be able to keep up on the space craft progress and looking forward to watching the first test flight .I watched all the others flights over the years from the start of man in space and will continue to watch your flights . I am a space nut that loves the space program and think we need it to keep going farther into space to learn more about ourselves and the planets and solar system .
    Thanks for posting so can keep up with progress .

  2. Thank you for posting the progress of the new space craft .I have the NASA web sight set on my computer so can keep up with things there too .Im your biggest fan of the space program have been watching flights from the very first manned flight up til now .I ‘m looking forward to watch the test flight in December of this year .Thanks again for starting this blog so we can be up on the capsule.

  3. Thanks for providing this blog!! Can’t wait to see a great test in December. Hope the team learns a lot from this EFT-1 flight!

  4. I have been looking forward ti this since last exploritory mission to the moon in the 70s. I watched with great interest back in the 60s all the lead up to moon mission but I was always facinated about Mars. I am 58 now and healthy and still waiting for first man mission. It looks like the rase this time is with Private industry I understand Space X is planing to go to Mars also but onrway trip.sounds exciting.good luck and Gods speed. May God Bless.

  5. I’m really looking forward to the Orion program being USA’s next step in manned space exploration. I grew up with the space program, I was 16 when we went to the Moon, so happy that I may also be around to see us land on Mars!
    Go Team Orion!!!

  6. Thanks for the new site. Sign me up. I want to track Orion’s progress. A&P mechanic, pilot and Flight Engineer. @gbetzner54

  7. What an incredible thing to share with our children. They (along with us) will witness, firsthand, the higher regions of what the human race can accomplish. “Thanks be to all those that came before, that broke the bonds of earth and allowed our souls to soar.” ~ Kris S Robison

  8. I LIKED THAT NAVE ORION,IT CAN LEAD TO PEACE,THE UNIVERSE,AND CARRY ON BOARD A BIG FLAG WITH ALL THE COUNTRIES OF OUR BLUE PLANET EARTH… WISH HIM SUCCESSES ORION

  9. I still do not understand the failure to return to the moon. I assume the current administration (Washington) has much to do with this. It would seem a purposeful choice to use the moon rather than deep space uses as too many things (size, water signs’ uses of vehicle, closeness for rescue and possible permanent settlement bases on resources ). I feel this is a mistake. You can still challenge other bodies. As you continue down the moon servicing profile I hope the plan is to get beyond this president and go fir moon base that makes better sense exploration wise. .

  10. ‘It’s a fascinating flight profile that NASA has not flown with a human-rated spacecraft since Apollo.’ This line from the blog caught my attention. Four hours and 3600 miles from Earth… this will be an impressive test.

  11. ‘It’s a fascinating flight profile that NASA has not flown with a human-rated spacecraft since Apollo.’ Wow, that line caught my attention. In just four hours and at 3600 miles above Earth; this will be an impressive test. I am looking forward to the continuing success of this project!

  12. Age 13 at the Apollo 11 moon landing, I have waited a whole life to see a heavy lift type launch. I never had a chance to see the space shuttle launch despite many tries. I hope to see one of these. Maybe somebody who lives near there can let me sleep in their backyard in a tent so I can spend some time waiting for the launch in case of an expected delay. I am pumped, Frank.

  13. Nice to know we are on target and USA NASA testing continues… Yes keep us posted and looking forward to seeing the launch.

  14. All I can say,is wow wow,I shall be going into space @79yrs of age,(if only in name (works for me) good luck to all fellow travellers regards John.

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