Bob Cabana spoke as the Orion spacecraft was being prepared for its trip from the Launch Abort System Facility to Launch Complex 37.

In the Kennedy Space Center’s Press Site auditorium, center director Bob Cabana spoke to members of the news media as the completed Orion spacecraft was being prepared for its trip from the Launch Abort System Facility to Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. The first unpiloted flight test of Orion is scheduled to launch Dec. 4, 2014 atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket, and in 2018 on NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. For more information, visit www.nasa.gov/orion Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett