CAPE CANAVERAL, FLA. — As NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden stood on the roadway in front of Space Launch Complex 37 Wednesday morning, a Delta IV Heavy rocket and the Orion spacecraft looming behind him, he succinctly summed up the forthcoming launch.
“What you see behind us is what you would call history in the making,” Bolden said. “Tomorrow is a giant day, it’s a huge day for us… It’s a ‘BFD’ — that’s a quote from the vice president.”
He was referring to Vice President Joe Biden’s open-mike gaffe as President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Health Care Act in 2010.
But by repeating the remark — minus the swear word — Bolden summed up the collective excitement at Kennedy Space Center one day before the launch, also known as “L-1.”
Orion is , blasting from Cape Canaveral, Fla., into space where it will orbit Earth twice before returning.
The capsule will venture further into space than any National Aeronautics and Space Administration craft built for human transport in more than 40 years. The spacecraft is part of NASA’s plan to eventually land humans on asteroids, Mars and other never-before visited destinations.
It also marks a new approach to space missions for NASA — first build a craft capable of venturing into deep space, and then figure out the “when and where” details.
Although NASA said Tuesday it hopes to send humans to an asteroid by 2025 and Mars sometime in the 2030s, there is not a set mission date. Bolden said that is intentional — part of NASA’s evolution.
“It is a journey. I don’t want people to get focused on the destination,” he said. “We’ve done a number of things to get to this point.”
Phasing out the space shuttle program was a start, Bolden said, and the work continues with the Commercial Crew program, which will eventually eliminate the United States’ reliance on Russia to ferry astronauts to space.
Bolden emphasized what many around the globe are buzzing about — going further into space than humans have gone since Apollo 13.
And, he said, the Orion program is just the beginning of united international efforts to get humans off the planet. Case in point: On Orion’s Experimental Mission 1 launch, which is tentatively scheduled for 2018, the spacecraft will have solar panels installed by the European Space Agency.
EFT-1 is the first bold step, he said.
“Tomorrow morning, you’re going to see us press harder than we’ve pressed before,” Bolden said. “You can’t have a good day unless you take a chance. It’s real easy to have a safe day. I don’t like that. I like having big days. And in order to have a big day, you have to take a big risk.
“Is it risky? Yes. Is it necessary? Yes, because anything worth having is worth taking a risk for,” he said. “It’s like I tell my granddaughters: If they want to be great, they have to take chances.”
EFT-1 has four main benchmark tests to achieve on its 4 hour, 24 minute flight: Launch the spacecraft into orbit; successfully perform four critical separation events; test the heat shield; and test the descent and landing systems for successful recovery off the coast of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula.
Two ships will recover Orion from the ocean: The , which is en route, and the USS Anchorage, already on site, and the ship that will carry Orion’s crew module back to San Diego. The entire recovery process takes about six hours from splashdown until the ships head back to port. Conditions are currently favorable, said Jeff Angermeier, EFT-1 recovery mission manager.
Science will be immediately recovered from the spacecraft once it arrives in port. Core samples will be taken from the heat shield and they, along with Orion’s onboard data recorders, will be immediately taken to local Lockheed Martin facilities for analysis. The shield itself will be removed for testing as well, Lockheed Martin Orion program manager Mike Hawes said.
A 10 to 14 day roadtrip will return Orion to Kennedy Space Center just before Christmas day.
Orion passed all pre-flight checks, receiving an “all clear” for launch, and final preparations are underway.
Shortly after 11 p.m. Wednesday, the .
Shortly thereafter, at about midnight, a team of Lockheed Martin engineers will arrive to power up the spacecraft. ULA will then add liquid nitrogen and oxygen to the Delta IV Heavy rocket.
And then, if all goes well, Orion will be space-bound.
Weather looks to be cooperating for the launch, scheduled for 5:05 a.m. MST, according to Kathy Winters, U.S. Air Force 45th Space Wing Launch Weather Officer. The two main concerns — precipitation and liftoff wind — have a 30 percent chance of delaying the launch. Temperature looks to be 72 degrees, with 7-mile visibility and isolated showers.
Laura Keeney: lkeeney@denverpost.com, 303-954-1337 or twitter.com/laurakeeney
