Orion spacecraft

June 9, 2008 -- WASHINGTON -- NASA and Alliant Techsystems, or ATK, unveiled Monday a new vertical test stand that will be used later this summer to support NASA's Constellation Program. The stand will be used to test fire the full-scale abort motor for the launch abort system, which will sit atop the Orion crew exploration vehicle.

The abort motor is designed to pull the crew module away from the Ares I launch vehicle in an emergency situation on the launch pad or during the first 300,000 feet after launch.    » read more »

May 8, 2008 -- STENNIS, Miss. -- NASA engineers Thursday successfully completed the first series of tests in the early development of the J-2X engine that will power the upper stages of the Ares I and Ares V rockets, key components of NASA's Constellation Program.

A historic J2 engine awaits testing on the A-1 Test Stand: NASA's Stennis Space Center. Image courtesy NASA/SSC

Ares I will launch the Orion spacecraft that will take astronauts to the International Space Station and then to the moon by 2020. The Ares V will carry cargo and components into orbit for trips to the moon and later to Mars.    » read more »

April 15, 2008 -- WASHINGTON -- NASA has completed the first full-scale rocket motor test for the Constellation Program's Orion spacecraft, a test of a solid rocket that will be used to jettison the craft's launch abort system.

Now under development, Orion will be America's next human spacecraft, designed to fly to the International Space Station and be part of a space flight system to return humans to the moon.

Orion Launch Abort System jettison motor test.: Photo by AeroJet

The Orion jettison motor will separate the craft's launch abort system from the Orion crew module during launch.    » read more »