Latest Orion Stories
Media representatives are invited to watch as the Orion crew capsule makes its final water landing test on Thursday, Jan. 5, at NASA's Langley Research Center's Hydro Impact Basin in Hampton, Va. Testing began last summer to certify the Orion spacecraft for water landings. Orion will carry astronauts into space, providing emergency abort capability, sustaining the crew during space travel and ensuring safe re-entry and landing. Since July 2011, engineers have conducted eight tests at...
HAMPTON, Va., Jan. 3, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Media representatives are invited to watch as the Orion crew capsule makes its final water landing test on Thursday, Jan. 5, at NASA's Langley Research Center's Hydro Impact Basin in Hampton, Va. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) Testing began last summer to certify the Orion spacecraft for water landings. Orion will carry astronauts into space, providing emergency abort capability, sustaining...
NASA successfully conducted a drop test of the Orion crew vehicle's parachutes high above the Arizona desert Tuesday in preparation for its orbital flight test in 2014. Orion will carry astronauts deeper into space than ever before, provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and ensure a safe re-entry and landing. A C-130 plane dropped the Orion test article from an altitude of 25,000 feet above the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Grounds. Orion's drogue chutes were...
HOUSTON, Dec. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA successfully conducted a drop test of the Orion crew vehicle's parachutes high above the Arizona desert Tuesday in preparation for its orbital flight test in 2014. Orion will carry astronauts deeper into space than ever before, provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and ensure a safe re-entry and landing. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) A C-130 plane dropped the...
NASA Announces Plans for Human Exploration of Deep Space, Fosters Commercial Spaceflight and Makes Major Discoveries in 2011 In 2011, NASA began developing a heavy-lift rocket for the human exploration of deep space, helped foster a new era of commercial spaceflight and technology breakthroughs, fully utilized a newly complete space station, and made major discoveries about the universe we live in, many of which will benefit life on Earth. "The year truly marks the beginning of a new...
WASHINGTON, Dec. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In 2011, NASA began developing a heavy-lift rocket for the human exploration of deep space, helped foster a new era of commercial spaceflight and technology breakthroughs, fully utilized a newly complete space station, and made major discoveries about the universe we live in, many of which will benefit life on Earth. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) "The year truly marks the beginning of a new era in...
[ Watch the Video ] Prepares for Another Active Year of Testing in 2012 NASA conducted its final J-2X rocket engine test of the year Dec. 14, the 10th firing in a series of tests on the new upper-stage engine that will carry humans farther into space than ever before. The J-2X engine was test fired on the A-2 Test Stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center, in south Mississippi. The test was performed at the 100 percent power level. The main focus of this test was to characterize...
The program tasked with setting up NASA's Kennedy Space Center to host an array of launchers and spacecraft passed a milestone last week when the 21st Century Ground Systems Program's Mission Concept Review was completed. "It gets all of our stakeholders on board," said Scott Colloredo, the project manager for the 21st Century Ground Systems Program. "We feel good about it." The program is one of two new programs for Kennedy that basically opened their doors in the past year or so. The...
BOULDER, Colo., Dec. 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. has delivered two Phased Array Antenna (PAA) Engineering Development Units (EDUs) for the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle to prime contractor Lockheed Martin. The PAA serves as a primary data and voice communication link for NASA astronauts across all mission phases from launch through flight operations and final capsule recovery. The EDUs are now undergoing testing at Lockheed Martin-Denver in...
Reporters are invited to watch a test version of the Orion crew capsule take its final splash of the year Tuesday, Dec. 13, at the Hydro Impact Basin of NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. Testing began this summer to certify the Orion spacecraft for water landings. Orion will carry astronauts deeper into space than ever before, provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and ensure a safe re-entry and landing. Since July, engineers have conducted...
Latest Orion Reference Libraries
Orion is a spacecraft design that is being developed by the United States space agency NASA. When completed, each Orion spacecraft will carry a crew of up to six astronauts. Along with Orion, the Ares I launch vehicle is also being developed. Orion and Ares I are both part of NASA's Project Constellation. The project should be complete in 2010, when NASA wants to start planning on sending human explorers back to the Moon, and eventually Mars and other celestial bodies in the Solar System....
Project Constellation is a spaceflight program run by NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration). The program goals are to continue significant operations away from Earth's environment, to develop technologies needed for expanding exploration of space, and to continue conducting fundamental science. Project Constellation was developed by the Exploration Systems Architecture Study, which established how NASA would pursue the goals from the Vision for Space Exploration and the...
Scorpius Constellation -- Scorpius (the scorpion) is one of the constellations of the zodiac. In western astrology it is known as "Scorpio." It lies between Libra to the west and Sagittarius to the east. It is a large constellation located in the southern hemisphere near the center of the Milky Way. Notable features Scorpius contains many bright stars, including Antares (α Sco), Graffias (β1 Sco), Dschubba (δ Sco), Sargas (θ Sco), Shaula (λ Sco), Jabah (ν Sco),...
Taurus (the bull) Constellation -- Location: Zodiac constellation, visible in both Hemispheres; Coordinates: Right Ascension: 04h; Declination: +15; Source: Bull legends from various ancient civilizations, also Greek mythology, Egyptian, Arab, other The constellations that are included in the Zodiac - the 12 constellations recognized by Babylonian astronomers through which our Sun, moon, and planets appeared to travel during the course of a year - are considered to be among the oldest sky...
Orion (the hunter) Constellation -- Location: Celestial Equator (visible in both Northern and Southern Hemispheres); Coordinates: Right Ascension: 05h; Declination: -05; Source: Greek mythology, Arab, ancient Indian & Egyptian The pattern in the constellation Orion was recognized as a human figure by many ancient cultures. Orion's position on the Celestial Equator makes it visible all over our planet. Ancient Indians saw the figure as a king who had been shot by an arrow (represented by...
