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Orion will be arriving at KSC, and from there will be prepared for its first test flight.
Photo: NASA
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by Alan McBride
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA. -- NASA's first space-bound Orion spacecraft will be arriving at the Kennedy Space Center before much longer.
And, by that, NASA means it will be at the facility in roughly a week or so, give or take a couple of days.
The space agency is hosting an all-stops-pulled event Monday, July 2, to usher the space capsule to its new quarters.
The Orion spacecraft will carry astronauts farther into the solar system than ever before. It will provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during the space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space.
The spacecraft will launch on "Exploration Flight Test-1," an unmanned mission planned for 2014.
This test, however, will be an event unto itself.
NASA officials say the test will see Orion doing a bit of traveling; more than is customary for first test-flights.
The space-bound Orion still has plenty of work ahead, such as installation of thermal heat-shielding and avionics systems.
Its launch vehicle, NASA's SLS, still has a way to go before it makes the transition from design to flight article, so Orion won't be stretching its legs completely till the year 2017.
NASA did note that the core stage for the SLS had passed a major milestone, going from conceptual stage to design phase June 21.
The SLS is expected to be the vehicle that will be giving Orion the boost it will need to begin manned exploration of the solar system, starting with near-Earth asteroids and heading on to Mars.
Nearer to hand, however, NASA will host an interactive session and "welcome party" for Orion's arrival July 2.
Space agency leaders and Orion Program managers will be answering questions from followers of NASA's social media accounts.
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