WASHINGTON — Orion, the new NASA spacecraft that could someday carry
astronauts to Mars, is ready for its first test flight.
Built by Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin, Orion is capable of carrying a crew
of
six, but there will be no people aboard as NASA checks out the capabilities of
the craft in a 4 1/2-hour flight.
“It is a big deal … this is the first human-rated spacecraft that’s going
beyond
LEO (low earth orbit) in 42 years,” says Mike Hawes, the head of Lockheed
Martin’s Orion program.
Barring any last-minute glitches or bad weather, a Delta-4 Heavy
rocket, the most powerful in the U.S. fleet, will lift off from Cape Canaveral
Air Force Station Thursday at 7:05 a.m., propelling the Orion capsule
through the Van Allen radiation belt, 3,600 miles above earth. The
International Space Station orbits just 260 miles above the earth’s surface.
“We’re flying with much of the software we’ll fly with when we fly crew,”
Hawes
says.
The flight will test Orion’s ability to successfully separate from the second
stage of the Delta rocket. Engineers also want to verify that the craft’s
heat
shield can withstand temperatures of 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit when the craft
plunges back into earth’s atmosphere. The craft’s 11 parachutes will also be
scrutinized for their ability to slow Orion for its descent into the Pacific
Ocean off the Baja coast.
“Everyone is so excited; we’ve been looking forward to this moment and we’re
just glad it’s finally here … we’re ready to go; we’re looking forward to a
successful flight,” says Allison Rakes, senior communications representative
for
Lockheed Martin.
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