What Is Orion?

Answer:

Artist's rendering of an Orion spacecraft in lunar orbit.

Orion is a spacecraft which was designed by Lockheed Martin for NASA, the space agency of the United States. Orion development began as part of the Constellation program, where Orion would fulfill the function of a Crew Exploration Vehicle.

Each Orion spacecraft is projected to carry a crew of four to six astronauts. The spacecraft was designed to be launched by the Ares I, a launch vehicle which is also part of the Constellation program. Constellation plans to send human explorers back to the Moon by 2020, and then onward to Mars and other destinations in the Solar System. On August 31, 2006, NASA awarded Lockheed Martin the contract to design, develop, and build Orion.

Orion would launch from Launch Complex 39 at Kennedy Space Center, the same launch complex used by the space shuttle. While shuttle operations continued from launch pad 39A, 39B was readied for Ares launches. NASA may use Orion spacecraft for its human spaceflight missions after the last shuttle orbiter is retired in 2011. The first crewed Orion flight is anticipated in 2015. Subsequent flights would visit the International Space Station. If commercial orbital transportation services are unavailable, Orion would handle logistic flights to the station. After that, Orion may become a key component of human missions to the Moon and Mars.

The federal government proposed cancellation of the Constellation program in February 2010. The final fate of Constellation program components is yet to be determined. NASA has indicated that technologies and systems developed to date will be reviewed for potential inclusion in new manned spaceflight programs.

As of March 10, 2010, NASA had begun to shut down the Constellation program in accordance with President Obama's cancellation directive. Control over the program was turned over to Lockheed Martin. As of April 15, 2010, Obama directed NASA Administrator Charles Bolden to immediately begin developing a rescue vehicle using the Orion technology and announced the decision in a major space policy speech at Kennedy Space Center.