Quick Look: NASA Orion’s Critical Test Mission

The missionOrion is the first spacecraft built for astronauts destined for deep space since the Apollo missions and ultimately it is destined for deep space travel -- but this week the spaceship went out for a short jaunt outside Earth. NASA says Orion’s unmanned test flight – slated for launch Thursday, is intended to test many of the riskiest elements of leaving Earth and returning home in the spacecraft including the jettison of the launch abort system; the separation of the Orion crew mo