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World & Nation

NASA to try again with Orion launch

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Delta IV Heavy rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft launches Friday, December 5, 2014 at launch complex 37B at Cape Canaveral.   (Red Huber / Orlando Sentinel)
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Delta IV Heavy rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft launches Friday, December 5, 2014 at launch complex 37B at Cape Canaveral.   (Red Huber / Orlando Sentinel)
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The United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASAs Orion spacecraft lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37 at at 7:05 a.m. EST, on December 5, 2014, in Florida.   (Bill Ingalls / AFP / Getty Images)
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The United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASAs Orion spacecraft lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37 at at 7:05 a.m. EST, on December 5, 2014, in Florida.   (Bill Ingalls / AFP / Getty Images)
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The United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASAs Orion spacecraft lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37 at at 7:05 a.m. EST, on December 5, 2014, in Florida.   (Bill Ingalls / AFP / Getty Images)
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Orion team members are seen in this long exposure photograph watching the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket with NASAs Orion spacecraft lift off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37 at at 7:05 a.m. EST, on December 5, 2014, in Florida.  (Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images)
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A United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket carrying NASA’s first Orion deep space exploration craft sits on its launch pad as it is prepared for launch on December 4, 2014 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.   (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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A United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket carrying NASA’s first Orion deep space exploration craft sits on its launch pad as it is prepared for launch on December 4, 2014 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.   (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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Tourists stand on the original Apollo 1 launch pad overlooking the Delta IV Heavy rocket with the Orion spacecraft on Space Launch Complex 37B pad at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Cape Canaveral, Florida December 1, 2014. REUTERS/Scott Audette (UNITED STATES - Tags: SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY SOCIETY) ORG XMIT: SAA01  (SCOTT AUDETTE / REUTERS)
By Scott Powers
Orlando Sentinel
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Orlando Sentinel

KENNEDY SPACE STATION – NASA will once again attempt to launch the next-generation Orion capsule this morning, with liftoff set for 4:05 a.m. PST.

There were no weather problems or technical issues as liftoff approached.

NASA and its partners have the same launch window today as Thursday. They must go by 6:44 a.m. PST.

The space agency couldn’t launch the spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Air Station on Thursday because of problems with a ship that wandered into restricted wars near the launch pad, wind gusts and stuck fuel valves.

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The 4 1/2 hour, unmanned mission is meant to test America’s newest spacecraft — one that’s being designed to take astronauts to the moon, asteroids, Mars and beyond in coming decades.

After launch, Orion is set to orbit Earth twice, swinging out to 3,600 miles, farther than any spacecraft designed to carry humans has ventured beyond Earth since Apollo went to the moon. Splash down is expected in the Pacific Ocean about 600 miles west of Baja California, Mexico.

Engineers hope the test flight will tell them a lot about how the spacecraft will perform in deep space and as it hurtles back to the Earth at 20,000 mph.

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World & Nation
Scott Powers

Scott Powers covers politics, federal issues and Kennedy Space Center launches and provides computer-assisted reporting to special projects at the Orlando Sentinel.

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