The Exploration Flight Test -1 will feature an uncrewed Orion spacecraft, being launched abroad a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket at 7:05 a.m. EST from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida. The window for launch is two hours 39 minutes.
The 50,000 lb. spacecraft has been lifted about 200 feet up and mated to the ULA Delta IV Heavy rocket.
The flight will take Orion to an altitude of approximately 3,600 miles above the Earth's surface, more than 15 times farther than the International Space Station's orbital position. By flying Orion out to those distances, NASA will be able to see how Orion performs in and returns from deep space journeys.
That same day, Orion will return to Earth at a speed of approximately 20,000 mph for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
EFT-1 will provide engineers with data about systems critical to crew safety, such as heat shield performance, separation events, avionics and software performance, attitude control and guidance, parachute deployment, and recovery operations to validate designs of the spacecraft before it begins carrying humans to new destinations in deep space. During re-entry into atmosphere, the outside temperature of Orion will go up to 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
Orion will splashdown in the Pacific Ocean approximately 600 miles southwest of San Diego.
During its 4.5 hour trip, Orion will orbit Earth twice. The flight is designed to test many of the elements that pose the greatest risk to astronauts and will provide critical data needed to improve Orion's design and reduce risks to future crewed missions.
EFT-1 will mark the 28th Delta IV launch, and ULA's 90th launch overall.
Origin: dark-sky-misteries.blogspot.com
