America's future spacecraft appears

The test version of Orion, the type of spacecraft that the US will use in the future, appears at Kennedy Space Center on July 2.

Officials and technical staff welcomed the test version of the Orion ship
at Kennedy Space Center, Florida, July 2. (Photo: Discovery News)

The leadership of Kennedy Space Center held a welcoming ceremony for the Orion spacecraft when it was brought here to conduct test flights. The US Aeronautics Agency (NASA) will conduct at least two test flights with Orion before launching it into space with astronauts, Discovery News reported.

Orion is designed to be able to bring up to 4 people to the moon, meteorites near Earth, Mars and other celestial bodies outside the Earth's orbit.

During test flights, the Delta 4 Heavy missile will take Orion to a height of more than 5,500km above the ground to test the heat resistance of the hull, the ability of the parachute and other systems.

NASA leaders want to launch the first Orion spacecraft into space in 2014 and the second spacecraft, which will fly to the moon's orbit, in 2017.

After the American Apollo program ended in 1972, no spacecraft on Earth brought people out of orbit. NASA wants to hire Russian spacecraft and private companies to bring people and goods to the International Space Station during the time that Orion cannot take off.