KSC-2012-6235

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A full-size test mock-up of the Orion spacecraft from of the Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The test article is on its way to the Multi-Payload Processing Facility, or MPPF, to test the path flight hardware will take during future launch processing. Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry crews to space beyond low Earth orbit. It will provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during the space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The first unpiloted test flight of the Orion is scheduled to launch in 2014 atop a Delta IV rocket and in 2017 on a Space Launch System rocket. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/orion Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis