Orion is the latest space ship of NASA. By reading this blog post you will understand a bit more about the Orion spacecraft and its features. NASA’s Orion vs Apollo spaceship comparison is also given here.
Orion is NASA’s new space shuttle designed to carry astronauts in deep space. Orion spacecraft is built to take humans into space with new experiences. It carries the crew to space and capable of providing emergency abort. One of the biggest feature of Orion spaceship is it is capable of providing a safe return to the earth.
First launch of Orion spaceship
On 5th of December 2014 Orion spaceship was launched from top of a Delta IV heavy rocket. The advance space shuttle was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 37. It has completed its first successful test flight and it’s next milestone is flight beyond the orbit of the moon which will be exciting and thrilling to watch.
Flight safety test
Before it carries astronauts it has tested its safety system. To test the functionality of the system Orion completed a two orbit, 4.5 hour flight loaded with approximately 1200 sensors. In future NASA is planning to launch Orion on a new heavy lift rocket, the space launch system. It will be more powerful than any other rocket ever built in history to the present era. In the future SLS will be capable of sending human beings to asteroids and to Mars.
NASA latest space shuttle Orion features
To build the new spacecraft NASA is using its own old experience of building various spacecrafts and focusing on using new technology. So it will be a mixture of new technology and lessons learned from earlier missions to build a new spacecraft. While comparing Orion capsule vs Apollo the Orion is more advanced. Orion will carry up to 6 astronauts whereas Apollo is capable of carrying 3 astronauts only. The Orion capsule has a new version of Apollo heat shield which is capable of keeping the astronauts safe as the astronauts re enters earth atmosphere while returning from deep space.
Orient space shuttle is a new and advance version of spaceships. It has a crew model diameter of 16.5 feet which is more than Apollo. It has the capacity of carrying 4 to 6 people and its service module diameter is about 16.5 feet. The capsule uses solar array batteries for power and has a multipurpose docking. It has a landing into water which is similar to Apollo. The destination bars are also raised to Mars and asteroids. Orion capsule will use modern technology in plenty of areas including computer electronics propulsion and life support.
Re entry into earth atmosphere
Re-entry into the earth atmosphere of any spaceship is the most dangerous situation and so is for Orient. As Orion sweeps the air particles out of its way those particles heat up in no time. Temperature around the spaceship reaches 4000 degree Fahrenheit which is absolutely thrilling and this is the most dangerous part of the flight. During re-entry into the Earth surface the Orion spacecraft is in the Fireball. After entry the spaceship slow downs and it’s speed drops 300 miles per hour. However, 300 miles per hour is still too fast to land safely into the ocean. Special parachutes are designed to help slow down the speed of spacecraft to a gentle pace.
Apollo vs Orion Capsule
| Apollo Spacecraft | Orion Spacecraft |
| Crew module diameter – 12.8 feet. Human taking capacity (crew size) – 3 Diameter of service module – 13 feet. Length of service module – 24.5 feet. Service module mass – 54,000 LBS. Service module thrust – 20,500 LBS. Power – Batteries fuel cells. Landing – Water. Docking – Lunar module. Destination – Sky lab, ASTP, moon. | Crew module diameter – 16.5 feet. Human taking capacity (crew size) – 4 (6 to ISS). Diameter of service module – 16.5 feet. Length of service module – 15.7 feet. Service module mass – 27,000 LBS. Service module thrust – 7,500 LBS. Power – Solar arrays batteries. Landing – Water. Docking – Multi purpose. Destination – Mars, Asteroids. |
faq
Is NASA building a new Space shuttle?
Yes, NASA is on the way to build a new space ship named Orion.
What is Orion?
Orion is a new space project of NASA.
What is the crew capacity of Orion spacecraft?
Orion spacecraft escapable of taking 6 humans at a time.
What destinations are set for Orion capsule?
Mars, Asteroids.
Orion or Apollo which is the better spacecraft?
With advanced features Orion looks better than the Apollo spaceship.