Orion (officially Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle or Orion MPCV) is a partially reusable crewed spacecraft used in NASA's Artemis program. The spacecraft consists of a Crew Module (CM) space capsule designed by

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...

and the European Service Module (ESM) manufactured by

Airbus Defence and Space Airbus Defence and Space is the division of Airbus SE responsible for the development and manufacturing of the corporation's defence and space products, while also providing related services. The division was formed in January 2014 during the ...

. Capable of supporting a crew of six beyond low Earth orbit, Orion can last up to 21 days undocked and up to six months docked. It is equipped with

solar panels A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a phot ...

, an automated docking system, and

glass cockpit A glass cockpit is an aircraft cockpit that features electronic (digital) flight instrument displays, typically large LCD screens, rather than the traditional style of analog dials and gauges. While a traditional cockpit relies on numerous mech ...

interfaces modeled after those used in the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. A single AJ10 engine provides the spacecraft's primary propulsion, while eight R-4D-11 engines, and six pods of custom reaction control system engines developed by Airbus, provide the spacecraft's secondary propulsion. Although compatible with other launch vehicles, Orion is primarily intended to launch atop a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, with a tower launch escape system. Orion was originally conceived in the early 2000s by Lockheed Martin as a proposal for the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) to be used in NASA's Constellation program. Lockheed Martin's proposal defeated a competing proposal by Northrop Grumman and was selected by NASA in 2006 to be the CEV. Originally designed with a service module featuring a new "Orion Main Engine" and a pair of circular solar panels, the spacecraft was to be launched atop the Ares I rocket. Following the cancellation of the Constellation program in 2010, Orion was heavily redesigned for use in NASA's Journey to Mars initiative; later named Moon to Mars. The SLS replaced the Ares I as Orion's primary launch vehicle, and the service module was replaced with a design based on the

European Space Agency , owners = , headquarters = Paris, Île-de-France, France , coordinates = , spaceport = Guiana Space Centre , seal = File:ESA emblem seal.png , seal_size = 130px , image = Views in the Main Control Room (1205 ...

's Automated Transfer Vehicle. A development version of Orion's CM was launched in 2014 during Exploration Flight Test-1, while at least four test articles have been produced. Orion was primarily designed by

Lockheed Martin Space Systems Lockheed Martin Space is one of the four major business divisions of Lockheed Martin. It has its headquarters in Littleton, Colorado, with additional sites in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania; Sunnyvale, California; Santa Cruz, California; Huntsville ...

in Littleton, Colorado. , three flight-worthy Orion spacecraft are under construction, with one completed and an additional one ordered, for use in NASA's Artemis program. The first completed unit, CM-002, was launched on November 16, 2022 on

Artemis 1 Artemis 1, officially Artemis I and formerly Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), was an uncrewed Moon-orbiting mission. As the first major spaceflight of NASA's Artemis program, Artemis 1 marked the return of the agency to lunar exploration original ...

Spacecraft description

Orion uses the same basic configuration as the Apollo command and service module (CSM) that first took astronauts to the Moon, but with an increased diameter, updated thermal protection system, and other modern technologies. It will be capable of supporting long-duration deep space missions with up to 21 days of active crew time plus 6 months' quiescent spacecraft life. During the quiescent period crew life support would be provided by another module, such as the proposed

Deep Space Habitat The Deep Space Habitat (DSH) is a series of concepts by NASA that would be used to support crewed exploration missions to the Moon, asteroids, and eventually Mars. The Orion spacecraft includes both crew and service modules, a spacecraft adapter and an emergency launch abort system. The Orion crew module is larger than Apollo's and can support more crew members for short or long-duration missions. The European service module propels and powers the spacecraft as well as storing oxygen and water for astronauts, Orion relies on solar energy rather than fuel cells, which allows for longer missions.

Crew module (CM)

Orion Spacecraft Outfitted Interior 2021 (no labels)

The Orion crew module (CM) is a reusable transportation capsule that provides a habitat for the crew, provides storage for consumables and research instruments, and contains the docking port for crew transfers. The crew module is the only part of the spacecraft that returns to Earth after each mission and is a 57.5° frustum shape with a blunt spherical aft end, in diameter and in length, with a mass of about . It was manufactured by the Lockheed Martin Corporation at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. It will have 50% more volume than the Apollo capsule and will carry four to six astronauts. After extensive study, NASA has selected the Avcoat ablator system to provide heat protection encountered during reentry for the Orion crew module. Avcoat, which is composed of

silica fiber Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one ...

s with a resin in a honeycomb made of fiberglass and phenolic resin, was formerly used on the Apollo missions and on the Space Shuttle orbiter for early flights. Orion's CM will use advanced technologies, including: *

Glass cockpit A glass cockpit is an aircraft cockpit that features electronic (digital) flight instrument displays, typically large LCD screens, rather than the traditional style of analog dials and gauges. While a traditional cockpit relies on numerous mech ...

digital control systems derived from those of the Boeing 787. * An "autodock" feature, like those of Progress, the Automated Transfer Vehicle, and Dragon 2, with provision for the flight crew to take over in an emergency. Prior US spacecraft have all been docked by the crew, with the exception of Dragon 2. * Improved waste-management facilities, with a miniature camping-style toilet and the unisex "relief tube" used on the Space Shuttle. * A nitrogen/oxygen (/) mixed

atmosphere An atmosphere () is a layer of gas or layers of gases that envelop a planet, and is held in place by the gravity of the planetary body. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A s ...

at either sea level () or reduced () pressure. The CM will be built of aluminium-lithium alloy. The reusable recovery parachutes will be based on the parachutes used on both the Apollo spacecraft and the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters, and will be constructed of Nomex cloth. Water landings will be the exclusive means of recovery for the Orion CM. To allow Orion to mate with other vehicles, it will be equipped with the NASA Docking System. The spacecraft will employ a

Launch Abort System A launch escape system (LES) or launch abort system (LAS) is a crew-safety system connected to a space capsule that can be used to quickly separate the capsule from its launch vehicle in case of an emergency requiring the abort of the launch, suc ...

(LAS) along with a "Boost Protective Cover" (made of fiberglass), to protect the Orion CM from aerodynamic and impact stresses during the first minutes of ascent. Orion is designed to be 10 times safer during ascent and reentry than the Space Shuttle. The CM is designed to be refurbished and reused. In addition, all of Orion's component parts have been designed to be as modular as possible, so that between the craft's first test flight in 2014 and its projected Mars voyage in the 2030s, the spacecraft can be upgraded as new technologies become available. As of 2019, the

Spacecraft Atmospheric Monitor The Spacecraft Atmosphere Monitor (S.A.M.) is a highly compact gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, GCMS) instrument built by JPL that is a technology demonstration on the International Space Station for moni ...

is planned to be used in the Orion CM.

European Service Module (ESM)

In May 2011 the ESA director general announced a possible collaboration with NASA to work on a successor to the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV). On June 21, 2012,

announced that they had been awarded two separate studies, each worth €6.5 million, to evaluate the possibilities of using technology and experience gained from

ATV ATV may refer to: Broadcasting * Amateur television *Analog television Television stations and companies * Ràdio i Televisió d'Andorra * ATV (Armenia) * ATV (Aruba), NBC affiliate * ATV (Australian TV station), Melbourne * ATV (Austria) * AT ...

and

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

related work for future missions. The first looked into the possible construction of a service module which would be used in tandem with the Orion CM. The second examined the possible production of a versatile multi purpose orbital vehicle. On November 21, 2012, the ESA decided to develop an

-derived service module for Orion. The service module is being manufactured by

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

, Germany. NASA announced on January 16, 2013, that the ESA service module will first fly on

, the debut launch of the Space Launch System. Testing of the European service module began in February 2016, at the

Space Power Facility Space Power Facility (SPF) is a NASA facility used to test spaceflight hardware under simulated launch and spaceflight conditions. The SPF is part of NASA's Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility, which in turn is part of the Glenn Research Center. The ...

. On February 16, 2017, a €200m contract was signed between Airbus and the

for the production of a second European service module for use on the first crewed Orion flight,

Artemis 2 Artemis 2 (officially Artemis II) is the second scheduled mission of NASA's Artemis program, and the first scheduled crewed mission of NASA's Orion spacecraft, currently planned to be launched by the Space Launch System (SLS) in May 2024. The c ...

. On October 26, 2018 the first unit for

was assembled in full at

's factory in

, Germany.

Launch Abort System (LAS)

In the event of an emergency on the launch pad or during ascent, the

(LAS) will separate the crew module from the launch vehicle using three

solid rocket A solid-propellant rocket or solid rocket is a rocket with a rocket engine that uses solid propellants Rocket propellant is the reaction mass of a rocket. This reaction mass is ejected at the highest achievable velocity from a rocket engine ...

motors: an abort motor (AM), an attitude control motor (ACM), and a jettison motor (JM). The AM provides the thrust needed to accelerate the capsule, while the ACM is used to point the AM and the jettison motor separates the LAS from the crew capsule. On July 10, 2007, Orbital Sciences, the prime contractor for the LAS, awarded

Alliant Techsystems Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK) was an American aerospace, defense, and sporting goods company with its headquarters in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States. The company operated in 22 states, Puerto Rico, and other countries. ATK's ...

(ATK) a $62.5 million sub-contract to "design, develop, produce, test and deliver the launch abort motor," which uses a "reverse flow" design. On July 9, 2008, NASA announced that ATK had completed construction of a vertical test stand at a facility in

Promontory, Utah Promontory is an area of high ground in Box Elder County, Utah, United States, 32 mi (51 km) west of Brigham City and 66 mi (106 km) northwest of Salt Lake City. Rising to an elevation of 4,902 feet (1,494 m) above sea ...

to test launch abort motors for the Orion spacecraft. Another long-time space motor contractor,

Aerojet Aerojet was an American rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer based primarily in Rancho Cordova, California, with divisions in Redmond, Washington, Orange and Gainesville in Virginia, and Camden, Arkansas. Aerojet was owned by GenCorp. ...

, was awarded the jettison motor design and development contract for the LAS. As of September 2008,

has, along with team members Orbital Sciences,

and NASA, successfully demonstrated two full-scale test firings of the jettison motor. This motor is used on every flight, as it separates the LAS from the vehicle after both a successful launch and a launch abort.

History

NASA's Orion Spacecraft Heads Cross Country

The Orion MPCV was announced by NASA on May 24, 2011. Its design is based on the Crew Exploration Vehicle from the canceled Constellation program, which had been a 2006 NASA contract award to

. The command module is being built by Lockheed Martin at the Michoud Assembly Facility, while the Orion service module is being built by

in Bremen with funding from the

. The MPCV's first uncrewed test flight (EFT-1) was launched atop a Delta IV Heavy rocket on December 5, 2014, and lasted 4 hours and 24 minutes before landing at its target in the Pacific Ocean. On November 30, 2020, it was reported that NASA and Lockheed Martin had found a failure with a component in one of the Orion spacecraft's power data units but NASA later clarified that it does not expect the issue to affect the Artemis 1 launch date.

Funding history and planning

For

fiscal years A fiscal year (or financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. Laws in many ju ...

2006 through 2022, the Orion program had expended funding totaling $21.547 billion in nominal dollars. This is equivalent to $26.299 billion in 2022 dollars using the NASA New Start Inflation Indices.''“NASA FY22 Inflation Tables - to be utilized in FY23” (Excel). NASA. Retrieved 31 October 2022''. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain''.'' For fiscal year 2023, the current administration is requesting $1,339 million for the Orion program. Excluded from the prior Orion costs are: # Most costs "for production, operations, or sustainment of additional crew capsules, despite plans to use and possibly enhance this capsule after 2021"; production and operations contracts were awarded going into fiscal year 2020 # Costs of the first service module and spare parts, which are provided by ESA for the test flight of Orion (about US$1 billion) # Costs to assemble, integrate, prepare and launch the Orion and its launcher (funded under the NASA Ground Operations Project, currently about $400M per year) # Costs of the launcher, the

SLS SLS may refer to the Space Launch System, a launch vehicle developed by NASA. It may also refer to: Education * Stanford Law School, California, U.S. * Sydney Law School, Australia * Symbiosis Law School, India * Same language subtitling, of TV ...

, for the Orion spacecraft For 2021 to 2025, NASA estimates yearly budgets for Orion from $1.4 to $1.1 billion. In late 2015, the Orion program was assessed at a 70% confidence level for its first crewed flight by 2023. There are no NASA estimates for the Orion program recurring yearly costs once operational, for a certain flight rate per year, or for the resulting average costs per flight. However, a production and operations contract awarded to Lockheed Martin in 2019 indicated NASA will pay the prime contractor $900M for the first three Orion capsules and $633M for the following three. In 2016, the NASA manager of exploration systems development said that Orion, SLS, and supporting ground systems should cost "US$2 billion or less" annually. NASA will not provide the cost per flight of Orion and SLS, with associate administrator William H. Gerstenmaier stating "costs must be derived from the data and are not directly available. This was done by design to lower NASA's expenditures" in 2017.

Ground test articles, mockups, and boilerplates

Technicians carefully position an Orion flight test crew module

* Space Vehicle Mockup Facility (SVMF) in

Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late U ...

, includes a full-scale Orion capsule mock-up for astronaut training. *

MLAS The Max Launch Abort System (MLAS) was a proposed alternative to the Maxime Faget-invented "tractor" launch escape system (LES) that was planned for use by NASA for its Orion (spacecraft), Orion spacecraft in the event an Ares I malfunction du ...

An Orion boilerplate was used in the MLAS test launch. *

Ares-I-X Ares I-X was the first-stage prototype and design concept demonstrator of Ares I, a launch system for human spaceflight developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Ares I-X was successfully launched on October 28, 2 ...

The Orion Mass Simulator was used on the Ares I-X flight test. * Pad Abort 1 An Orion boilerplate was used for the Pad Abort 1 flight test, the LAS was fully functional, the boilerplate was recovered *

Ascent Abort-2 Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) was a test of the launch escape system (LAS) of NASA's Orion spacecraft. The test followed Orion's Pad Abort-1 test in 2010, and Exploration Flight Test-1 in 2014 in which the capsule first flew in space. It precedes an u ...

An Orion boilerplate was used for the Ascent Abort 2 flight test, the LAS was fully functional, the boilerplate was discarded * The Boilerplate Test Article (BTA) underwent splashdown testing at the

Langley Research Center The Langley Research Center (LaRC or NASA Langley), located in Hampton, Virginia, United States of America, is the oldest of NASA's field centers. It directly borders Langley Air Force Base and the Back River on the Chesapeake Bay. LaRC has fo ...

. This same test article has been modified to support Orion Recovery Testing in stationary and underway recovery tests. The BTA contains over 150 sensors to gather data on its test drops. Testing of the mockup ran from July 2011 to January 6, 2012. * The Ground Test Article (GTA) stack, located at Lockheed Martin in Denver, is undergoing vibration testing. It is made up by the Orion Ground Test Vehicle (GTV) combined with its Launch Abort System (LAS). Further testing will see the addition of service module simulator panels and Thermal Protection System (TPS) to the GTA stack. * The Drop Test Article (DTA), also known as the Drop Test Vehicle (DTV) underwent test drops at the US Army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona from an altitude of . Testing began in 2007. Drogue chutes deploy around . Testing of the

staged ''Staged'' is a British television comedy series, set during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom and primarily filmed using video-conferencing technology. The first series premiered on 10 June 2020 on BBC One, and the second series prem ...

parachutes includes the partial opening and complete failure of one of the three main parachutes. With only two chutes deployed the DTA lands at , the maximum touchdown speed for Orion's design. The drop test program has had several failures in 2007, 2008, and 2010, resulting in new DTV being constructed. The landing parachute set is known as the Capsule Parachute Assembly System (CPAS). With all parachutes functional, a landing speed of was achieved. A third test vehicle, the PCDTV3, was successfully tested in a drop on April 17, 2012.

Variants

Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV)

Orion spacecraft launch configuration (2009 revision)

The idea for a Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) was announced on January 14, 2004, as part of the Vision for Space Exploration after the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' accident. The CEV effectively replaced the conceptual Orbital Space Plane (OSP), a proposed replacement for the Space Shuttle. A design competition was held, and the winner was the proposal from a consortium led by Lockheed Martin. It was later named "Orion" after the stellar

constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The origins of the e ...

and mythical hunter of the same name, and became part of the Constellation program under NASA administrator Sean O'Keefe. Constellation proposed using the Orion CEV in both crew and cargo variants to support the International Space Station and as a crew vehicle for a return to the Moon. The crew/command module was originally intended to land on solid ground on the US west coast using airbags but later changed to ocean splashdown, while a service module was included for life support and propulsion. With a diameter of as opposed to , the Orion CEV would have provided 2.5 times greater volume than the Apollo CM. The service module was originally planned to use liquid methane (LCH₄) as its fuel, but switched to hypergolic propellants due to the infancy of oxygen/methane-powered rocket technologies and the goal of launching the Orion CEV by 2012. The Orion CEV was to be launched on the Ares I rocket to low Earth orbit, where it would rendezvous with the Altair lunar lander launched on a heavy-lift

Ares V The Ares V (formerly known as the Cargo Launch Vehicle or CaLV) was the planned cargo launch component of the cancelled NASA Constellation program, which was to have replaced the Space Shuttle after its retirement in 2011. Ares V was also plan ...

launch vehicle for lunar missions.

Environmental testing

NASA performed environmental testing of Orion from 2007 to 2011 at the Glenn Research Center Plum Brook Station in

Sandusky, Ohio Sandusky ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Erie County, Ohio, Erie County, Ohio, United States. Situated along the shores of Lake Erie in the northern part of the state, Sandusky is located roughly midway between Toledo, Ohio, Toledo ( wes ...

. The Center's

is the world's largest thermal vacuum chamber.

Launch Abort System (LAS) testing

ATK Aerospace successfully completed the first Orion Launch Abort System (LAS) test on November 20, 2008. The LAS motor could provide of thrust in case an emergency situation should arise on the launch pad or during the first of the rocket's climb to orbit. On March 2, 2009, a full size, full weight command module mockup (pathfinder) began its journey from the Langley Research Center to the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, for at-gantry launch vehicle assembly training and for LES testing. On May 10, 2010, NASA successfully executed the LES PAD-Abort-1 test at White Sands New Mexico, launching a boilerplate (mock-up) Orion capsule to an altitude of approximately . The test used three solid-fuel rocket motorsthe main thrust motor, an attitude control motor and the jettison motor.

Splashdown recovery testing

In 2009, during the Constellation phase of the program, the Post-landing Orion Recovery Test (PORT) was designed to determine and evaluate methods of crew rescue and what kind of motions the astronaut crew could expect after landing, including conditions outside the capsule for the recovery team. The evaluation process supported NASA's design of landing recovery operations including equipment, ship and crew needs. The PORT Test used a full-scale boilerplate (mock-up) of NASA's Orion crew module and was tested in water under simulated and real weather conditions. Tests began March 23, 2009, with a Navy-built, boilerplate in a test pool. Full sea testing ran April 6–30, 2009, at various locations off the coast of NASA's Kennedy Space Center with media coverage.

Cancellation of Constellation program

On May 7, 2009, the Obama administration enlisted the Augustine Commission to perform a full independent review of the ongoing NASA space exploration program. The commission found the then-current Constellation Program to be woefully under-budgeted with significant cost overruns, behind schedule by four years or more in several essential components, and unlikely to be capable of meeting any of its scheduled goals. As a consequence, the commission recommended a significant re-allocation of goals and resources. As one of the many outcomes based on these recommendations, on October 11, 2010, the Constellation program was canceled, ending development of the Altair, Ares I, and Ares V. The Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle survived the cancellation and was transferred to be launched on the Space Launch System.

Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV)

The Orion development program was restructured from three different versions of the Orion capsule, each for a different task, to the development of the MPCV as a single version capable of performing multiple tasks. On December 5, 2014, a developmental Orion spacecraft was successfully launched into space and retrieved at sea after splashdown on the Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1).

Orion splashdown recovery testing

Before EFT-1 in December 2014, several preparatory vehicle recovery tests were performed, which continued the "crawl, walk, run" approach established by PORT. The "crawl" phase was performed August 12–16, 2013, with the Stationary Recovery Test (SRT). The Stationary Recovery Test demonstrated the recovery hardware and techniques that were to be employed for the recovery of the Orion crew module in the protected waters of Naval Station Norfolk utilizing the LPD-17 type USS Arlington as the recovery ship. The "walk" and "run" phases were performed with the Underway Recovery Test (URT). Also utilizing an LPD 17 class ship, the URT was performed in more realistic sea conditions off the coast of California in early 2014 to prepare the US Navy / NASA team for recovering the Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) Orion crew module. The URT tests completed the pre-launch test phase of the Orion recovery system. Delta IV Heavy on pad with Orion EFT-1 (KSC-2014-4686)

Delta IV Heavy on pad with Orion EFT-1 (KSC-2014-4686)

Orion Lite

History

Orion Lite is an unofficial name used in the media for a lightweight crew capsule proposed by Bigelow Aerospace in collaboration with

. It was to be based on the Orion spacecraft that Lockheed Martin was developing for NASA. It would be a lighter, less capable and cheaper version of the full Orion. The intention of designing Orion Lite would be to provide a stripped-down version of the Orion that would be available for missions to the International Space Station earlier than the more capable Orion, which is designed for longer duration missions to the Moon and Mars. Bigelow had begun working with Lockheed Martin in 2004. A few years later Bigelow signed a million-dollar contract to develop "an Orion mockup, an Orion Lite",Bigelow still thinks big
, '' The Space Review'', 2010-11-01, accessed 2010-11-02. "

n October 2010 N, or n, is the fourteenth Letter (alphabet), letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the English alphabet, modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is English alphabet# ...

Bigelow revealed that he had been working with Lockheed Martin on a capsule concept in the 2004–2005 period. 'We engaged in a million-dollar contract a couple years after that with Lockheed, and they created for us an Orion mockup, an Orion Lite.' in 2009. The proposed collaboration between Bigelow and Lockheed Martin on the Orion Lite spacecraft has ended. Bigelow began work with Boeing on a similar capsule, the CST-100, which has no Orion heritage, and was selected under NASA's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program to transport crew to the ISS.

Design

Orion Lite's primary mission would be to transport crew to the International Space Station, or to private space stations such as the planned B330 from Bigelow Aerospace. While Orion Lite would have the same exterior dimensions as the Orion, there would be no need for the deep space infrastructure present in the Orion configuration. As such, the Orion Lite would be able to support larger crews of around 7 people as the result of greater habitable interior volume and the reduced weight of equipment needed to support an exclusively low-Earth-orbit configuration.Space Hotel Visionary Proposes Modified "Orion Lite" Spaceship for NASA: Bigelow Airspace's concept is for low Earth-orbit missions only
, ''

Popular Science ''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...

'', Jeremy Hsu, 14 August 2009

Recovery

In order to reduce the weight of Orion Lite, the more durable heat shield of the Orion would be replaced with a lighter weight heat shield designed to support the lower temperatures of Earth atmospheric re-entry from low Earth orbit. Additionally, the current proposal calls for a mid-air retrieval, wherein another aircraft captures the descending Orion Lite module. To date, such a retrieval method has not been employed for crewed spacecraft, although it has been used with satellites.

Flights

List of flights

Upcoming missions

The first crewed flight,

, will be a lunar flyby. Should it succeed, flights will continue around one a year from Artemis 3 in 2025.

Proposed

A proposal curated by

William H. Gerstenmaier William H. Gerstenmaier (born September 26, 1954) is an aerospace engineer and policymaker who is Vice President, Build and Flight Reliability at SpaceX. He previously served as NASA's Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations b ...

before his 10 July 2019 reassignment suggests four launches of the crewed Orion spacecraft and logistical modules aboard the SLS Block 1B to the Gateway between 2024 and 2028. The crewed Artemis4 through7 would launch yearly between 2025 and 2028, testing in situ resource utilization and nuclear power on the lunar surface with a partially reusable lander. Artemis7 would deliver in 2028 a crew of four astronauts to a surface lunar outpost known as the Lunar Surface Asset. The Lunar Surface Asset would be launched by an undetermined launcher and would be used for extended crewed lunar surface missions. Another repair mission to the Hubble Space Telescope is also possible. Orion docked to Mars Transfer Vehicle

Potential Mars missions

The Orion capsule is designed to support future missions to send astronauts to Mars, probably to take place in the 2030s. Since the Orion capsule provides only about of living space per crew member, the use of an additional

Deep Space Habitat The Deep Space Habitat (DSH) is a series of concepts by NASA that would be used to support crewed exploration missions to the Moon, asteroids, and eventually Mars. The habitat module will provide additional space and supplies, as well as facilitate spacecraft maintenance, mission communications, exercise, training, and personal recreation.Habitat for Long Duration Deep Space Missions
Preliminary design proposal for DSH by Rucker & Thompson. Published 5 May 2012, retrieved 8 Dec. 2014 Some concepts for DSH modules would provide approximately of living space per crew member, though the DSH module is in its early conceptual stage. DSH sizes and configurations may vary slightly, depending on crew and mission needs.
Nasa DSH design news update. Published June 21, 2012, retrieved 8 Dec. 2014 The mission may launch in the mid-2030s or late-2030s.

Canceled

Asteroid Redirect Mission

The Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM), also known as the Asteroid Retrieval and Utilization (ARU) mission and the Asteroid Initiative, was a space mission proposed by NASA in 2013. The Asteroid Retrieval Robotic Mission (ARRM) spacecraft would rendezvous with a large

near-Earth asteroid A near-Earth object (NEO) is any small Solar System body whose orbit brings it into proximity with Earth. By convention, a Solar System body is a NEO if its closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) is less than 1.3 astronomical units (AU). ...

and use robotic arms with anchoring grippers to retrieve a 4-meter boulder from the asteroid. A secondary objective was to develop the required technology to bring a small

into

lunar orbit In astronomy, lunar orbit (also known as a selenocentric orbit) is the orbit of an object around the Moon. As used in the space program, this refers not to the orbit of the Moon about the Earth, but to orbits by spacecraft around the Moon. The ...

– "the asteroid was a bonus." There, it could be analyzed by the crew of the Orion EM-5 or EM-6 ARCM mission in 2026. Gateway with docked logistics module in lunar orbit

Gateway with docked logistics module in lunar orbit

List of vehicles

References

External links

AA-2 Orion Launch video
*
ESA Photo GalleryMission concept for combined Orion/Sample return
Crewed spacecraft Proposed spacecraft Deep Space Habitat Artemis program Articles containing video clips Vehicles introduced in 2014 Reusable spacecraft Lunar Gateway NASA spacecraft By May 2020, the ESA had signed an agreement with NASA to provide three service modules for Artemis as part of its barter arrangement with NASA to be a member of the Artemis program. The ESMs cost approximately each to acquire from Airbus, not counting the costs incurred by the ESA directly. The third ESM is slated to fly in 2024.{{cite web , url=https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/1265221856333873153 , title=ESA signs ~ EUR 250M ($305M) w/ @AirbusSpace to build 3rd Orion service module as part of existing barter agreement with @NASA. This model will fly in 2024 in the NASA Artemis mission sending astronauts to Moon. ESA funds were approved at last November's council of ESA govts. , last=de Selding , first=Peter , date=26 May 2020 , access-date=26 May 2020 , archive-date=May 26, 2020 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200526132423/https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/1265221856333873153 , url-status=live

Spacecraft description

Crew module (CM)

European Service Module (ESM)

Launch Abort System (LAS)

History

Funding history and planning

Ground test articles, mockups, and boilerplates

Variants

Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV)

Environmental testing

Launch Abort System (LAS) testing

Splashdown recovery testing

Cancellation of Constellation program

Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV)

Orion splashdown recovery testing

Orion Lite

History

Design

Recovery

Flights

List of flights

Upcoming missions

Proposed

Potential Mars missions

Canceled

Asteroid Redirect Mission

List of vehicles

See also

References

External links