14 DAY TRIAL // Towards the end of November, NASA proudly announced that, come December 4, its Orion spacecraft would embark on its maiden voyage. Due to strong winds and technical trouble, the launch was eventually postponed.
Latest information says that, should all go as planned, the Orion spacecraft will leave Earth tomorrow, possibly but not surely sometime around 7:05 a.m. EST.
“The launch team has tentatively set a liftoff time of 7:05 a.m. EST, the opening of a 2-hour, 39 minute window just as today,” reads a statement issued by NASA just a few minutes ago.
How the launch was supposed to play out
Scientists with NASA expected that this December 4 their Orion spacecraft would leave Earth on a Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket that would launch from the Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
The spacecraft was supposed to reach an altitude of 3,600 miles (some 5,800 kilometers), circle our planet twice and then use its parachute system to land in the Pacific Ocean, from where it would've eventually been recovered.
The Orion spacecraft's journey around our planet was supposed to last about 4.5 hours. During this time, scientists would've been able to assess its ability to handle space conditions.
“The Orion Flight Test will evaluate launch and high speed re-entry systems such as avionics, attitude control, parachutes and the heat shield,” reads a recent NASA statement concerning Orion's planned maiden voyage.
So, what the heck went wrong?
As mighty as NASA might be, among other reasons, it was forced to postpone today's Orion spacecraft launch because of strong winds around the Space Launch Complex 37 at Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
Thus, powerful wind gusts left with NASA with no choice but to change the expected launch time several times. When the rocket and the spacecraft were finally ready to go, scientists found that a fill and drain valve wasn't working properly.
Eventually, scientists agreed that it would be best to leave the launch for tomorrow. “Today’s launch attempt has been scrubbed,” the scientists in charge of the launch explain in one of their latest statements.
One can only hope that tomorrow NASA will manage to finally send Orion on its first journey to space and back. While we wait for the spacecraft's departure launch, we can feast our eyes on footage showing Orion hanging about its launch pad. Yes, the footage is the one below.
