Last Monday the primary structure for the first Orion crew capsule destined for space was delivered to NASA at Kennedy Space Center. Orion, produced by Lockheed Martin, will be completed in the Operations and Checkout Building at KSC. This capsule will be used for a flight test in 2014, launched atop a Delta IV Heavy. It will orbit twice and re-enter at speeds close to what would be experienced during a lunar return to test the heat shield. Operationally the Orion is planned to launch atop the Space Launch System, which NASA is currently developing.
The most interesting part of this, to me, is the social media Q&A NASA conducted in conjunction with the arrival of the Orion. I think it is far more interesting and informative than the usual official presentations:
And speaking of those official presentations, there’s one of those too if you really want to watch it:
