Orion (spacecraft)
Also known as MPCV, Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle
The Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) is a partially reusable crewed spacecraft used by NASA for the Artemis lunar exploration program. It consists of a crew module (CM), a space capsule built by Lockheed Martin, and is paired with a European Service Module (ESM) provided by the European Space Agency (ESA) and manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space. Orion supports a crew of four beyond low Earth orbit for up to 21 days undocked or up to six months when docked. It is equipped with a NASA Docking System port and glass cockpit displays. It is intended to be launched atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with a tower-mounted launch escape system.
AI overview
Orion is NASA's spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to the Moon and beyond as part of the Artemis program, built by Lockheed Martin with a European service module and capable of supporting a crew of four for extended missions. It matters because it represents the next generation of human spaceflight technology that will enable NASA to return people to lunar exploration after decades.
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Wikidata facts
- Diameter
- 5.03
- Mass
- 33446
- Official website
- www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/orion-spacecraft
- Image
- Artemis I Orion October 12, 2020.jpg
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- Commons category
- Orion (spacecraft)
- inception
- 2006-08-22
- social media followers
- 761095
- native label
- Orion
- service life
~29 min read
Article
The Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) is a partially reusable crewed spacecraft used by NASA for the Artemis lunar exploration program. It consists of a crew module (CM), a space capsule built by Lockheed Martin, and is paired with a European Service Module (ESM) provided by the European Space Agency (ESA) and manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space. Orion supports a crew of four beyond low Earth orbit for up to 21 days undocked or up to six months when docked. It is equipped with a NASA Docking System port and glass cockpit displays. It is intended to be launched atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with a tower-mounted launch escape system.
Orion was conceived in the early 2000s by Lockheed Martin as a proposal for the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) to be used in NASA's Constellation program and was selected by NASA in 2006. After the cancellation of the Constellation program in 2010, Orion was extensively redesigned for use in NASA's Journey to Mars initiative; later named Moon to Mars. The SLS became Orion's primary launch vehicle, and the service module was replaced with a design based on ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicle.