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NASA Announces Orion Test Flight in 2014


November 8, 2011 | WMFE - NASA has added an early test flight for its new Orion crew capsule, which is expected to eventually carry astronauts into deep space. Tuesday's announcement means Orion will blast off from Cape Canaveral about three years earlier than planned.

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[Image: Artist's concept of the new Space Launch System rocket launching with the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle. Credit: NASA]

NASA now says they’re aiming for an unmanned test flight of Orion in early 2014. When the Obama administration first announced its plan to retire the Space Shuttle program in favor of manned space flight to the moon, nearby asteroids and Mars, a test mission wasn’t expected until 2017. 

NASA says Orion’s test flight will orbit the earth twice, then land in the Pacific Ocean. The space agency says the test will provide valuable information as they ready Orion for its first manned flight sometime after 2020.  

NASA’s announcement may mean much-needed aerospace industry jobs could return to Cape Canaveral sooner than expected. Thousands of space workers were laid off when the Space Shuttle program ended earlier this year.

 


  

 

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