NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville will host several events in celebration of the first flight test of the Orion spacecraft.
On Dec. 4, Orion will launch atop a Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37 in Florida. The flight test will evaluate launch and high-speed re-entry systems such as avionics, attitude control, parachutes and the heat shield. During its two-orbit, 4.5-hour flight, Orion will venture 3,600 miles in altitude and travel nearly 60,000 miles before returning to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
Media are invited to join a group of social media users touring Marshall Center facilities Wednesday, Dec. 3. At 8:45 a.m. CST, Marshall representatives will give an overview of the center’s contributions to Orion’s first flight, and participants will have the opportunity to see the multi-spacecraft adapter test article identical to the one connecting Orion to the Delta IV.
There also will be a live NASA TV broadcast from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida featuring Orion and NASA representatives describing the mission and NASA’s plans for the future. Media are invited to join a live screening of the broadcast from noon-2 p.m. at Marshall. Questions will be taken live from Marshall to the panelists at the Kennedy Space Center. News media interested in attending the Dec. 3 events should contact Kimberly Newton at 256-544-0334 no later than 5 p.m. Monday, Dec. 1.
Starting at 5 a.m. Dec. 4, the USSRC will provide live coverage of the launch — scheduled for 6:05 a.m. CST — in the Davidson Center for Space Exploration Digital Theater. The launch window extends to 8:44 a.m. CST, with liftoff targeted for the beginning of the window. Marshall representatives will be on hand to answer questions about the launch.
The USSRC is located at One Tranquility Base in Huntsville. Educational activities for kids will be held immediately following the launch through splashdown — scheduled for 10:29 a.m. CST if launch occurs at the start of the window. Events at the USSRC are free and open to the public and will include students attending Space Camp; local schools; NASA team members; and United Launch Alliance employees who worked on the Delta IV Heavy rocket in nearby Decatur, Alabama.
News media interested in attending the viewing party at the USSRC should contact Tim Hall at 256-701-0916 or Kimberly Newton at 256-544-0334 no later than 4 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 3.
In the future, Orion will launch on NASA’s new rocket, the Space Launch System. More powerful than any rocket ever built, SLS will be capable of sending humans to deep space destinations, including an asteroid and ultimately Mars. The Marshall Center manages the SLS Program for the agency.
For more information on Orion, visit:
For more information on SLS, visit:
Tim Hall
U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama
256-701-0916
timh@spacecamp.com
Kimberly Newton
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
256-544-0034
kimberly.d.newton@nasa.gov