Orion

Orion. Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. , NASA’s Orion spacecraft built by Lockheed Martin will take humans farther than they’ve ever gone before! Orion is the exploration vehicle that will carry the crew to space, provide emergency escape, if needed, sustain the crew during the space travel, then provide safe return from deep space. Orion will launch on NASA’s new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System. , , Orion took this first step on December 5, 2014, when the unscrewed spacecraft launched atop a Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, then traveled 3,600 miles during its two-orbit trip around Earth. , , [Captions:] , The next mission for the Journey to Mars is set for 2018 when NASA’s powerful new rocket, the Space Launch System, will launch from Kennedy Space Center and carry the Orion spacecraft without astronauts thousands of miles beyond the moon. , NASA’s Orion spacecraft is perched on a pedestal inside the Launch Abort System Facility at Kennedy Space Center for post-mission processing in January 2015.