ORION EFT-1

ORION EFT-1 is no longer on orbit

NORAD ID: 40329

Int'l Code: 2014-077A

Launch date: December 5, 2014
Source: United States (US)
Launch site: AIR FORCE EASTERN TEST RANGE (AFETR)
Decay date: 2014-12-05

ORION EFT-1 was the first test flight of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle. The craft, without a crew, was launched on December 5, 2014, at 12:05 UTC (7:05 am EST), by a Delta IV Heavy rocket from Space Launch Complex 37B at 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 20,000 miles per hour (32,000 km/h; 8,900 m/s). This mission design corresponds to the Apollo 4 mission of 1967, which validated the Apollo flight control system and heat shield at re-entry conditions planned for the return from lunar missions.