NASA's Orion spacecraft arrives at Kennedy to prepare for deep space exploration missions

Space · Published 15 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: In June 2012, the first space-bound Orion crew capsule reached Kennedy Space Center, marking a pivotal shift in American space strategy. Designed to carry humans farther than ever before, this advanced vehicle is the centerpiece of a new era aimed at reaching asteroids and eventually Mars.

The arrival of the Orion crew capsule at Kennedy Space Center on June 28, 2012, signaled a transition in how NASA approaches space travel. While the agency increasingly relies on private companies for cargo and crew delivery to low-Earth orbit, such as the International Space Station, it is simultaneously focusing its internal efforts on building a next-generation system for deep space. This strategy aims to push human exploration beyond the boundaries of the last 40 years, with specific goals of reaching an asteroid by 2025 and Mars in the 2030s.

Orion is engineered to be the most advanced spacecraft ever designed, featuring critical capabilities like emergency abort systems and safe re-entry from deep space. The capsule, which was constructed at the Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana, will undergo final outfitting and heat shield installation at Kennedy. A 400-person production team is tasked with integrating thermal protection systems and avionics before the craft's first uncrewed mission, Exploration Flight Test-1, which is scheduled for 2014. During this test, the vehicle will travel 3,600 miles above Earth—15 times the distance of the International Space Station—to evaluate the heat shield's performance.

The broader architecture supporting these missions includes the Space Launch System (SLS), a heavy-lift rocket managed by Marshall Space Flight Center. While Boeing develops the SLS core stage and ATK processes solid rocket boosters, NASA is also refurbishing historic facilities at Kennedy to handle the new hardware. From parachute tests in the Arizona desert to software simulations in Houston, the program integrates efforts across multiple centers. By 2017, the SLS is expected to launch, providing the necessary power to extend human presence throughout the solar system.

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