Orion, NASA’s new spacecraft 

built to send humans farther 

than ever before, is launching 

into space for the first time in 

December 2014.

An uncrewed test flight called Exploration 

Flight Test-1 will test Orion systems critical to 

crew safety, such as heat shield performance, 

separation events, avionics and software 

performance, attitude control and guidance, 

parachute deployment and recovery operations. 

The data gathered during the flight will influence 

design decisions and validate existing computer 

models and innovative new approaches to space 

systems development, as well as reduce overall 

mission risks and costs. 

The Orion spacecraft will take astronauts beyond 

low-Earth orbit to destinations such as an 

asteroid and eventually Mars on future missions, 

but to ensure that it’s ready for humans to fly 

in, its December flight test is needed to stress 

its systems in the real environment it will face 

as it pushes the boundaries of human space 

exploration. 

Exploration Flight Test-1

During Orion’s flight test, the spacecraft will 

launch atop a Delta IV Heavy, a rocket built 

and operated by United Launch Alliance. While 

this launch vehicle will allow Orion to reach an 

altitude high enough to meet the objectives for 

this test, a much larger, human-rated rocket 

will be needed for the vast distances of future 

exploration missions. To meet that need, NASA 

is developing the Space Launch System, which 

will give Orion the capability to carry astronauts 

farther into the solar system than ever before.

During the uncrewed flight, Orion will orbit 

the Earth twice, reaching an altitude of 

approximately 3,600 miles – about 15 times 

farther into space than the International Space 

Station orbits. Sending Orion to such a high 

altitude will allow the spacecraft to return to 

Earth at speeds near 20,000 mph. Returning at 

this speed, as fast as any spacecraft built for 

humans had endured since the Apollo Program, 

will expose the heat shield to temperatures close 

to 4,000o F, 80 percent of what the spacecraft 

would endure returning from the vicinity of the 

moon on NASA’s Asteroid Redirect Mission.

NASAfacts

IMAGE CAPTION: Artist’s rendering of Orion reentering the Earth’s atmosphere following its first flight test.

orionFirst Flight Test

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration
National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center

Houston, Texas 77058

www.nasa.gov

FS-2014-08-005-JSC

Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor building the Orion 

spacecraft and conducting the flight for NASA. 

Following the test, which will take about four and a half 

hours, Orion will land in the Pacific Ocean and be recovered 

by NASA’s Ground Systems Development and Operations 

Program and the U.S. Navy.

Orion’s flight test will increase efficiencies and reduce risks in 

several ways: 

• Programmatic Risk Reduction – Critical data collected from 

the flight will help NASA lower 10 of the top 16 risks to the 

astronauts who will later fly on Orion. Systems to be verified 

include the thermal protection system, hardware separation 

events and the parachute system. 

• Technical Risk Reduction – While Orion hardware has been 

tested extensively on the ground, the harsh realities of the 

space environment can’t be entirely duplicated on Earth. 

This test allows engineers to identify design problems and fix 

them before Orion carries astronauts on missions that have 

never been attempted before.

• Efficiencies Identification – Orion’s first flight offers NASA the 

chance to continue to refine its production and coordination 

processes, aligning with the agency’s commitment to build 

the world’s most cutting-edge spacecraft in the most costefficient manner possible.

• Industry Partnerships Enhancement – Orion’s design teams 

will gain important experience and training to ensure the 

industry is prepared to launch Orion aboard the Space 

Launch System on its second flight.

During Exploration Flight Test-1, NASA is building on 

knowledge gained through the International Space Station and 

more than 50 years of human spaceflight experience, solving 

difficult challenges that will enable humans to safely explore 

deep space, including radiation mitigation, life support for 

long-duration missions and advanced thermal protection.

Four primary parts of the spacecraft will be evaluated during 

the test flight:

• The Crew Module – Will house and transport NASA’s 

astronauts during deep space missions and holds many of 

Orion’s most critical systems. 

• The Service Module – Will contain Orion’s propulsion, power 

and life support systems on future flights; because Orion’s 

flight test is a relatively short duration and the systems aren’t 

needed on an uncrewed flight, this first service module will 

primarily provide a structural representation.

• The Launch Abort System – Will propel the crew module to 

safety in an emergency during launch or ascent; because this 

flight is uncrewed, only its jettison from the crew module will 

be tested.

• Orion-to-Stage Adapter – Connects Orion to the launch 

vehicle; it also serves as a pathfinder for the adapter that will 

connect Orion to the Space Launch System in the future. 

For more information about Orion, please visit www.nasa.gov/

orion.

Orion’s crew module is maneuvered into place above its service module 

in the Operations and Checkout Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center 

in Florida.

Artist’s rendering of Orion during Exploration Flight Test-1, the first 

spaceflight of America’s next generation spacecraft.