Unveiling the Orion spacecraft

Unveiling the Orion spacecraft
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Calling it an exciting chapter in the United States' great space exploration story, NASA this week unveiled the Orion capsule, which will eventually take astronauts on missions to destinations far beyond Earth, to such places as asteroids and Mars.

Orion will be the most advanced spacecraft ever designed. It will provide emergency abort capability, sustain astronauts during space travel, and provide safe re-entry from deep space. The craft will carry astronauts farther into space than ever before. Orion will launch atop the Space Launch System (SLS), NASA's next flagship rocket currently under design.

For more on Orion's development, see this earlier slideshow:
NASA's Orion edges closer to space (photos)

July 4, 2012 2:34 PM PDT

Photo by: NASA/Gianni Woods

| Caption by: James Martin

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