Orion (spacecraft)
Orion is a partially reusable crewed spacecraft used in NASA's Artemis program. The spacecraft consists of a Crew Module space capsule designed by Lockheed Martin that is paired with a European Service Module manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space. Capable of supporting a crew of four beyond low Earth orbit, Orion can last up to 21 days undocked and up to six months docked. It is equipped with solar panels, an automated docking system, and glass cockpit interfaces. Orion is launched atop a Space Launch System rocket, with a tower launch escape system.
Orion was conceived in the early 2000s by Lockheed Martin as a proposal for the Crew Exploration Vehicle to be used in NASA's Constellation program and was selected by NASA in 2006. Following 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 the European Space Agency's Automated Transfer Vehicle. A development version of Orion's crew module was launched in 2014 during Exploration Flight Test-1, while at least four test articles were produced. Orion was primarily designed by Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Littleton, Colorado, with former Space Shuttle engineer Julie Kramer White at NASA as Orion's chief engineer.
, three flight-worthy Orion spacecraft were under construction, with two completed, one of those two flown and an additional one ordered, for use in NASA's Artemis program. The first completed unit, CM-002, was launched on November 16, 2022, on Artemis I.
In May 2025, the second Trump administration proposed terminating the Orion spacecraft program after Artemis III. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed in July 2025 included a provision to fund procurement of Orion for Artemis IV and reuse in future missions.
Description
Orion uses the same basic configuration as the Apollo command and service module that first took astronauts to the Moon, but with an increased diameter, updated thermal protection system, and other more modern technologies. It is designed to support long-duration deep space missions with up to 21 days of active crew time plus 6 months' quiescent spacecraft life. During the quiescent period, crew life support would be provided by another module, such as the proposed Lunar Gateway. The spacecraft's life support, propulsion, thermal protection, and avionics systems can be upgraded as new technologies become available.At launch, the Orion spacecraft includes both crew and service modules, a spacecraft adapter and an emergency launch abort system. The Orion crew module is larger than Apollo's and can support more crew members for short or long-duration missions. The European service module propels and powers the spacecraft as well as storing oxygen and water for astronauts. Orion relies on solar energy rather than fuel cells, which allows for longer missions.
Crew module (CM)
The Orion crew module is a reusable transportation capsule that provides a habitat for the crew, provides storage for consumables and research instruments, and contains the docking port for crew transfers. The crew module is the only part of the spacecraft that returns to Earth after each mission and is a 57.5° frustum shape with a blunt spherical aft end, in diameter and in length, with a mass of about. It is manufactured by the Lockheed Martin Corporation at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana. It has 50% more volume than the Apollo capsule and will carry four astronauts. After extensive study, NASA selected the Avcoat ablator system to provide heat protection encountered during reentry for the Orion crew module. Avcoat, which is composed of silica fibers with a resin in a honeycomb made of fiberglass and phenolic resin, was formerly used on the Apollo missions and on the Space Shuttle orbiter for early flights.The CM uses Glass cockpit digital control systems derived from those of the Boeing 787.
It incorporates an "autodock" feature, like those of Progress, the Automated Transfer Vehicle, and Dragon 2, with provision for the flight crew to take over in an emergency.
It has waste-management facilities, with a miniature camping-style toilet and the unisex "relief tube" used on the Space Shuttle.
It has a nitrogen/oxygen mixed atmosphere at either sea level or reduced pressure.
The CM is built of aluminium-lithium alloy. The reusable recovery parachutes are based on the parachutes used on both the Apollo spacecraft and the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Boosters, and constructed of Nomex cloth. Water landing is the exclusive means of recovery for the Orion CM.
To allow Orion to mate with other vehicles, it will be equipped with the NASA Docking System. The spacecraft employs a Launch Abort System along with a "Boost Protective Cover", to protect the Orion CM from aerodynamic and impact stresses during the first minutes of ascent. Orion is designed to be 10 times safer during ascent and reentry than the Space Shuttle. The CM is designed to be refurbished and reused. In addition, all of Orion's component parts have been designed to be as modular as possible, so that between the craft's first test flight in 2014 and its projected Mars voyage in the 2030s, the spacecraft can be upgraded as new technologies become available.
As of 2019, the Spacecraft Atmospheric Monitor is planned to be used in the Orion CM.
European Service Module (ESM)
In May 2011, the ESA director general announced a possible collaboration with NASA to work on a successor to the Automated Transfer Vehicle. On June 21, 2012, two studies by Astrium were made public. The first looked into the possible construction of a service module which would be used in tandem with the Orion CM. The second examined the possible production of a versatile multi purpose orbital vehicle.On November 21, 2012, the ESA decided to develop an ATV-derived service module for Orion. The service module is being manufactured by Airbus Defence and Space in Bremen, Germany. NASA announced on January 16, 2013, that the ESA service module will first fly on Artemis I, the debut launch of the Space Launch System.
Testing of the European service module began in February 2016, at the Space Power Facility.
On February 16, 2017, a €200 million contract was signed between Airbus and the European Space Agency for the production of a second European service module for use on the first crewed Orion flight, Artemis II.
On October 26, 2018, the first unit for Artemis I was assembled in full at Airbus Defence and Space's factory in Bremen, Germany.
Launch Abort System (LAS)
In the event of an emergency on the launch pad or during ascent, the Launch Abort System will separate the crew module from the launch vehicle using three solid rocket motors: an abort motor, an attitude control motor, and a jettison motor. The AM provides the thrust needed to accelerate the capsule, while the ACM is used to point the AM and the jettison motor separates the LAS from the crew capsule. On July 10, 2007, Orbital Sciences, the prime contractor for the LAS, awarded Alliant Techsystems a $62.5 million sub-contract to "design, develop, produce, test and deliver the launch abort motor," which uses a "reverse flow" design. On July 9, 2008, NASA announced that ATK had completed construction of a vertical test stand at a facility in Promontory, Utah to test launch abort motors for the Orion spacecraft. Another long-time space motor contractor, Aerojet, was awarded the jettison motor design and development contract for the LAS. As of September 2008, Aerojet has, along with team members Orbital Sciences, Lockheed Martin and NASA, successfully demonstrated two full-scale test firings of the jettison motor. This motor is used on every flight, as it separates the LAS from the vehicle after both a successful launch and a launch abort.Spacecraft properties and performance
With the announcement in 2019 of the intent to procure a Human Landing System for Artemis missions, NASA provided Orion mass and propulsion capability values. After separation from the SLS upper stage, the Orion is expected to have a mass of and be capable of performing maneuvers requiring up to of delta-v.History
The Orion MPCV was announced by NASA on May 24, 2011. Its design is based on the Crew Exploration Vehicle from the canceled Constellation program, which had been a 2006 NASA contract award to Lockheed Martin. The command module is being built by Lockheed Martin at the Michoud Assembly Facility, while the Orion service module is being built by Airbus Defence and Space in Bremen with funding from the European Space Agency.On November 30, 2020, it was reported that NASA and Lockheed Martin had found a failure with a component in one of the Orion spacecraft's power data units but NASA later clarified that it did not expect the issue to affect the Artemis I launch date.
Funding history and planning
NASA has spent $24.1 billion on Orion development from 2006 through 2024, in nominal dollars. This is equivalent to $31.4 billion in 2025 dollars using the NASA New Start Inflation Indices.In 2025, the Enacted NASA Budget for Exploration, which includes Orion, is approximately the same again as 2024.
Excluded from the prior Orion costs are:
- Most costs "for production, operations, or sustainment of additional crew capsules, despite plans to use and possibly enhance this capsule after 2021"; production and operations contracts were awarded going into fiscal year 2020.
- Costs of the first service module and spare parts, which are provided by ESA for the test flight of Orion
- Costs to assemble, integrate, prepare and launch the Orion and its launcher, funded separately in the NASA Ground Operations Project, currently about $600 million per year
- Costs of the launcher, the SLS, for the Orion spacecraft
In 2016, the NASA manager of exploration systems development said that Orion, SLS, and supporting ground systems should cost "US$2 billion or less" annually. NASA will not provide the cost per flight of Orion and SLS, with associate administrator William H. Gerstenmaier stating "costs must be derived from the data and are not directly available. This was done by design to lower NASA's expenditures" in 2017. As of 2020, there were no NASA estimates for the Orion program recurring yearly costs once operational, for a certain flight rate per year, or for the resulting average costs per flight. A production and operations contract awarded to Lockheed Martin in 2019 indicated NASA will pay the prime contractor $900 million for the first three Orion capsules and $633 million for the following three. For 2021 to 2025, NASA estimates yearly budgets for Orion from $1.4 to $1.1 billion.