NASA and United Launch Alliance (ULA) representatives will be available on Friday, Feb. 21 at ULA in Decatur, Ala., to discuss Exploration Flight Test -1, the first trip to space for the Orion spacecraft. Media will have the opportunity to see two of the Delta IV Heavy boosters that will launch Orion being loaded onto a ship and interview representatives from NASA, ULA and Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor building the Orion spacecraft.
The boosters will be loaded onto the Mariner cargo barge and then travel to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., for final processing prior to launch, set for this fall from Space Launch Complex-37. Media will also have the opportunity to see the third booster, which is still in fabrication, at the Decatur facility.
During Exploration Flight Test-1 the Orion spacecraft will travel 3,600 miles into space – farther than a spacecraft built for humans has been in more than 40 years – and orbit the Earth twice in a test of key Orion systems. The capsule will re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere at speeds approaching 20,000 miles per hour, generating temperatures as high as 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit, before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.
Media should arrive no later than 8:15 a.m. CDT at the ULA facility, 1001 Red Hat Road, Decatur, Ala. 35601. Media will be given a brief overview at the ULA facility and then be able to view the boosters being loaded onto the barge. After that viewing, media will see the core booster that is being readied for shipment and participate in interview opportunities.
News media interested in attending should contact Chris Chavez at ULA at 303-332-6416 or chris.s.chavez@ulalaunch.com no later than 4 p.m. CDT Thur. Feb. 20. All attendees must be U.S. citizens and must wear long pants, closed toe, flat-soled shoes and long-sleeved shirts.
For more information and fact sheets about NASA’s Exploration Flight Test-1, Orion’s first test flight, visit: www.nasa.gov/orion
