The Orion crew module is positioned in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

The Orion crew module, stacked atop its service module, is positioned in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A ceremony will begin to officially turn over the Orion spacecraft for Exploration Flight Test-1 to Lockheed Martin Ground Operations from Orion Assembly, Integration and Production.

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 test flight of the Orion is scheduled to launch atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida in December to an altitude of 3,600 miles above the Earth's surface. The two-orbit, four-hour flight test will help engineers evaluate the systems critical to crew safety including the heat shield, parachute system and launch abort system. For more information, visit http://www.nasa.gov/orion. Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper