NASA flight director Mike Sarafin describes the timeline of Orion Exploration Flight Test 1, the crew capsule’s first space mission set for launch Dec. 4 on a United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket. The test flight will verify the craft’s heat shield, computers and avionics, and key separation events to be used on piloted missions to deep space.
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Q&A with Mike Hawes, Lockheed Martin’s Orion program manager
The man in charge of the Orion crew capsule program at Lockheed Martin is a lifelong veteran of the space program, beginning his tenure at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in the late 1970s before taking posts in Washington and joining Lockheed Martin to lead the company’s work on the nation’s new spacecraft for journeys beyond Earth orbit.