14 DAY TRIAL // Officials at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Florida announce that two of the three rocket boosters that will be used during the first test flight of America's new spacecraft have just arrived at Port Canaveral via barge. The only booster missing is the port-side one, which is expected to make its way to Florida next month.
The NASA Orion Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) is scheduled to conduct its Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) maiden flight on September 18. The spacecraft will take off from Space Launch Complex 37 (SLC-37) at CCAFS aboard a Delta IV Heavy delivery system provided by the United Launch Alliance. ULA is a collaborative effort by the Boeing Company and Lockheed Martin.
The Delta IV Heavy configuration that will be used for EFT-1 features three boosters. The pair that arrived in Florida recently are the core and starboard ones, with the port booster expected to arrive alongside the upper stage of the rocket, in April. All components will then be integrated into the delivery system within the CCAFS Horizontal Integration Facility.
During EFT-1, Orion will reach an altitude of 5,790 kilometers (3,600 miles), the farthest a capsule meant for human space exploration has ever been in more than 40 years. After circling Earth twice, the vehicle will reenter the atmosphere at a speed of 32,186 kilometers (20,000 miles) per hour, before touching down safely somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.