Exploration Flight Test-1
Exploration Flight Test-1 or EFT-1 was a technology demonstration mission and the first flight test of the crew module portion of the Orion spacecraft. Without a crew, it was launched on December 5, 2014 at 12:05 UTC by a Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The mission was a four-hour, two-orbit test of the Orion crew module featuring a high apogee on the second orbit and concluding with a high-energy reentry at around. This mission design corresponds to the Apollo 2/3 missions of 1966, which validated the Apollo flight control system and heat shield at re-entry conditions planned for the return from lunar missions.
Objectives
EFT-1 tested several systems of the crew module portion of the Orion spacecraft, including separation events, avionics, heat shield performance, parachutes, and recovery operations. The uncrewed test flight served as a precursor to Orion’s first mission aboard the Space Launch System on Artemis I. Because the European Service Module was not yet available, Orion flew with a structural representation. It also carried only a partial launch abort system, limited to the motor used to jettison the system at the end of launch, along with an Orion-to-stage adapter designed for future use with the SLS.For the mission, Orion remained attached to the dummy service module, which itself was connected to the Delta IV Heavy’s upper stage. This stage was nearly identical to the Interim Cryogenic Upper Stage planned for the Block 1 version of the SLS. Unlike future flights, Orion relied on internal batteries for power rather than photovoltaic arrays.
Data returned from EFT-1 informed Orion’s design and were incorporated into its critical design review in April 2015. These results helped pave the way for the Artemis I mission, which launched on November 16, 2022, more than seven years after EFT-1.
Vehicle assembly
Orion CM-001 used on the EFT-1 mission was built by Lockheed Martin. On June 22, 2012, the final welds of the EFT-1 Orion were completed at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was then transported to Kennedy Space Center's Operations and Checkout Building, where the remainder of the spacecraft was completed. The Delta IV rocket was put in a vertical position on October 1, 2014, and Orion was mated with the vehicle on November 11.Flight
The four-and-a-half-hour flight took the Orion spacecraft on two orbits of Earth. Peak apogee was approximately. The distance allowed the spacecraft to reach reentry speeds of up to, which exposed the heat shield to temperatures up to around.| Time | Event |
| L6:00:00 | Orion powered on, mobile service tower retracts, fueling of Delta IV Heavy begins |
| 0:00:00 | Launch |
| 0:01:23 | Max q |
| 0:01:23 | Vehicle is supersonic |
| 0:03:56 | Booster separation |
| 0:05:30 | First stage MECO |
| 0:05:33 | First stage separation |
| 0:05:49 | Second stage ignition No. 1 |
| 0:06:15 | Service module fairing jettison |
| 0:06:20 | Launch Abort System jettison |
| 0:17:39 | SECO No. 1, Orion begins first orbit |
| 1:55:26 | Orion completes first orbit, second stage ignition No. 2 |
| 2:00:09 | SECO No. 2 |
| 2:05:00 | Enter first high radiation period |
| 2:20:00 | Leave first high radiation period |
| 2:40:00 | Reaction control system activation |
| 3:05:00 | Reach peak apogee: |
| 3:23:41 | Orion separates from combined service module/second stage, second stage performs disposal burn |
| 3:57:00 | Orion positions for reentry |
| 4:13:41 | Entry interface |
| 4:20:22 | Forward bay cover jettisons, parachute deployment begins |
| 4:24:46 | Splashdown and recovery by the USS Anchorage crew |
After splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, crews from the USS Anchorage recovered the EFT-1 Orion crew vehicle. Plans were later made to outfit the capsule for an ascent abort test in 2017.
Public outreach
NASA heavily promoted the mission, collaborating with Sesame Street and its characters to educate children about the flight test and the Orion spacecraft.The Orion capsule used for EFT-1 is now on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, in the "NASA Now" exhibit.