The latest report from the U.S. space agency, the first flight test of NASA's Orion capsule has been delayed until 2019. NASA's Orion Capsule is one kind of vehicle that intended to carry four people to MARS or beyond Earth.
This testing process has been delayed due to short of safety and technical commodity. The unmanned test had been scheduled for November 2018. But Orion Capsule test was pushed back when White House asked for a feasibility study of the cost, reported by Phys.Org.
Apart from Orion Capsule, NASA has clearly stated that they are against the decision to send astronauts to the EM-1 spacecraft. In addition, NASA also confirmed that they will stick to its original plan of putting crews on the second test mission, known as EM-2. It is expected to launch in August 2021.
From NASA's Human Explorations department, associate administrator Bill Gerstenmaier said, that second flight might be delayed beyond 2021. According to him, the Orion Capsule spacecraft is still developing, like improving the heat shield and adding life support systems, reported by AFP News.
Orion Capsule is going to cost more, and scientists have the budget that they have to be considerate of and make sure they spend the minimum amount for this stuff moving forward. But it was practicable. It just didn't seem warranted in this environment.
In a statement by NASA officials, the decision of delay the Orion Capsule test was made in partnership with the White House. No particular date has been set yet but NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot said that particular date should be coming in the next few months.
Moreover, NASA is building the world's most powerful Rocket, known as Space Launch System (SLS). US President Donald Trumped said scientist will have to speed that up a little bit to send people to MARS. Though NASA officially announced that they will send astronauts to MARS by 2030s and manned exploration of Mars is expected to exceed $33 billion by 2033. Finally, the date of the first flight test of NASA's Orion Capsule will be announced soon.
