Orion Service Module Encapsulation

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Inside the Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the service module for the Orion spacecraft is secured to a work stand and all three of the fairings have been installed around it. The fairings will protect the service module during launch. The Orion spacecraft is being prepared for its first unpiloted flight test, Exploration Flight Test-1, or EFT-1, scheduled for launch atop a Delta IV rocket in September 2014. The Orion spacecraft is designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. Orion is scheduled to launch atop NASA’s Space Launch System rocket in 2017. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper