The launch of Orion’s flight test has been scrubbed for Dec. 4 because of an issue related to fill and drain valves on the Delta IV Heavy rocket that teams could not troubleshoot by the time the launch window expired. The next launch window opens at 7:05 a.m. Eastern on Friday, Dec. 5. A post-scrub briefing is targeted for noon EST today at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and will be carried live on NASA Television.
The un-crewed Orion will orbit 3,600 miles above Earth before splashing down in the Pacific. Orion is being designed to carry astronauts on exploration missions into deep space, including a trip to an asteroid and eventually to Mars.
The Journey to Mars is humanity's Next Giant Leap into our solar system. The Orion spacecraft and its first flight test will help make it possible.
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