NASA’s new spacecraft for humans launches in 2018 on top of NASA’s new rocket, and we already know about how the spacecraft will perform during flight. How? A test flight was successfully completed back in 2014.
This spacecraft, Orion, will carry crews deeper into space than ever before. It’s a multipurpose crew vehicle which will enable human missions to places that include the region around the moon and an asteroid.
NASA’s Orion
The test flight was designed to do several things. One was to characterize and reduce many top risks to future astronauts that will fly on the spacecraft. Another was to reduce the technical risk by flying Orion in a space environment – something that cannot be completely replicated on Earth. It also provided the opportunity to improve production and make sure industry partners would be ready to launch the spacecraft again.
What did the test flight accomplish?
It successfully flew a spacecraft for humans into deep space, which hadn’t been done since the Apollo program. The launch abort system successfully fell away from Orion. Flying through areas of high radiation, Orion’s shielding was successful in preventing systems from being negatively affected. Testing also evaluated the heat shield and parachutes, which performed successfully. Testing computers, systems and sensors, this flight made two orbits around the Earth before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.
Launching on top of Space Launch System (SLS) in 2018, Orion will embark on its last unmanned flight before humans travel onboard the capsule to deep space destinations!
More about Orion at NASA.gov.