Orion (spacecraft)
Orion, full name: Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle or Orion MPCV, is a spacecraft built by Lockheed Martin for NASA.
| 300px An artist's picture of the Orion spacecraft | |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Martin Airbus |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | United States of America |
| Operator | NASA |
| Applications | Beyond LEO exploration[1] |
| Specifications | |
| Spacecraft type | Space capsule |
| Design life | 21 days, 2 hours and 24 minutes[2] |
| Launch mass | Capsule: 10,387 kilograms (22,899 pounds) Service module: 15,461 kilograms (34,086 pounds) Total: 25,848 kilograms (56,985 pounds) |
| Crew capacity | 2–6[3] |
| Dimensions | 3.3 by 5 metres (11 by 16 feet) |
| Volume | Pressurized: 19.56 kilometres (12.15 miles)[4] Habitable: 8.95 m3 (316 cu ft) |
| Production | |
| Launched | 2 |
| First launch | December 5, 2014 |
| Related spacecraft | |
| Derived from | |
One of those flew into space (and back to Earth), as late as 2022's fourth quarter. That mission lasted 25 days. There were no astronauts on the flight.
A spaceflight with astronauts is planned for, no earlier than April 2026.
Each Orion spacecraft will be able to carry up to six[3] astronauts. The Orion vehicle will be launched on the Space Launch System.[5] The first launch (Exploration Flight Test-1) was on the Delta IV Heavy.[6]
History
Orion was first made for the Constellation program in 2004, as the Orion CEV (Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle). It was meant to be launched on the Ares I rocket. Then it would be able to go to the International Space Station. It was also planned to go to a spacecraft launched in pieces on different Ares V rockets, and the spacecraft with the Orion would go to the Moon, Mars, or another place.
In October, 2010, Constellation was cancelled. They created a new program and a new rocket called the Space Launch System, and changed the name of Orion to the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle.[7]
Orion (spacecraft) Media
Project Orion logo
Schematic of Orion CM
Currently operational crewed spacecraft (at least orbital class)
Interactive 3D models of Orion, with the spacecraft fully integrated on the left and in exploded view on the right
The crew of Artemis II training inside an Orion mock-up in January 2025
- Orion Spacecraft Outfitted Interior 2021 (labeled).jpg
Annotated image of the Orion mock-up, outfitted like the spacecraft would be in space during a crewed missions, 2021
- NASA's Orion Spacecraft Parachutes Tested at U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground.jpg
Testing of Orion's parachute system
- Orion PA-1 paint job.jpg
Orion Crew Module Model (Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center)
An artist's concept of an Orion spacecraft including the European Service Module with Interim Cryogenic Upper Stage attached at the back
- Liftoff of Orion.webm
Liftoff sequence of Orion on December 5, 2014
Related pages
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References
- ↑ "NASA Authorization Act of 2010". Thomas.loc.gov. Archived from the original on December 19, 2010. Retrieved November 20, 2010.
- ↑ Bergin, Chris (July 10, 2012). NASA ESD set key Orion requirement based on Lunar missions. NASASpaceFlight.com. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/07/nasa-esd-key-orion-requirement-lunar-missions/. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers at line 630: attempt to index field 'known_free_doi_registrants_t' (a nil value).
- ↑ "Orion Quick facts" (PDF). NASA. August 4, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 3, 2016. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
- ↑ "Preliminary Report Regarding NASA's Space Launch System and Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle" (PDF). NASA. January 2011. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
- ↑ Fountain, Henry (December 5, 2014). "NASA's Orion Spacecraft Splashes Down in Pacific After Test Flight". New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/06/science/nasa-orion-spacecraft-lifts-off-into-orbit.html. Retrieved December 5, 2014.
- ↑ "NASA Moon and Mars". nasa.gov. 25 June 2018. Archived from the original on 2021-04-07. Retrieved 2019-05-21.
Other websites
- Orion NASA webpage Archived 2011-05-27 at the Wayback Machine