Orion Project Patch

Orion is a spacecraft currently under development by the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Orion will carry a crew of four to six astronauts, and will be launched by the new Ares I launch vehicle. Both Orion and Ares I are elements of NASA's Project Constellation, which plans to send human explorers back to the Moon, and then onward to Mars and other destinations in the solar system.[1][2] On August 31, 2006, NASA awarded Lockheed Martin (LM) the contract to design, develop, and build Orion.[3]Previously known as the Crew Exploration Vehicle or CEV, Orion will launch from the same launch complex at Kennedy Space Center that currently launches the Space Shuttle. NASA will use Orion spacecraft for its human spaceflight missions after the three Shuttle orbiters when they are retired in 2010. Orion will initially handle logistic flights to the International Space Station starting at the end of 2014 or beginning of 2015, and after that it will become a key component of missions to the Moon and Mars