Exploration Flight Test-1

Launch of EFT-1 on December 5, 2014
Mission type	Uncrewed test flight
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	2014-077A
SATCAT no.	40329
Mission duration	4 hours, 24 minutes
Orbits completed	2
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	Orion MPCV
Manufacturer	Lockheed Martin
Start of mission
Launch date	December 5, 2014, 12:05 (2014-12-05UTC12:05Z) UTC (07:05 EST)[1][2]
Rocket	Delta IV Heavy
Launch site	Cape Canaveral SLC-37B
Contractor	United Launch Alliance
End of mission
Recovered by	USS Anchorage
Landing date	December 5, 2014, 16:29 (2014-12-05UTC16:30Z) UTC
Landing site	Pacific Ocean, 640 miles (1,030 km) SSE of San Diego 23°37′N 114°28′W / 23.61°N 114.46°W / 23.61; -114.46 (EFT-1 splashdown)
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Apogee	5,800 kilometres (3,604 mi)
Orion Program ← Pad Abort 1 EM-1 →

Exploration Flight Test-1 or EFT-1 (previously known as Orion Flight Test 1 or OFT-1) was the first test flight of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle. Without a crew, it 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).^[3] 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.

NASA heavily promoted the mission, collaborating with Sesame Street and its characters to educate children about the flight test and the Orion spacecraft.^[4]

Objectives[edit]

The flight was intended to test various Orion systems, including separation events, avionics, heat shielding, parachutes, and recovery operations prior to its debut launch aboard the Space Launch System, currently scheduled for some time in 2019.^[5]

Vehicle assembly[edit]

EFT-1 Orion was built by Lockheed Martin.^[6] On June 22, 2012, the final welds of the EFT-1 Orion were completed at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana.^[6] It was then transported to Kennedy Space Center's Operations and Checkout Building, where the remainder of the spacecraft was completed.^[7]
The Delta IV rocket was put in a vertical position on October 1, 2014, and Orion was mated with the vehicle on November 11.^[8][9][10]

Flight[edit]

Mission diagram

EFT-1

Rendering of Orion capsule and Delta IV upper-stage during EFT-1

Earth seen from the EFT-1 Orion spacecraft

The four-and-a-half-hour flight took the Orion spacecraft on two orbits of Earth. Peak altitude was approximately 5,800 kilometres (3,600 mi). The high altitude allowed the spacecraft to reach reentry speeds of up to 20,000 mph (32,000 km/h; 8,900 m/s), which exposed the heat shield to temperatures up to around 4,000 °F (2,200 °C).^[3][11]

During the flight, the crew module, a structural representation of the service module, a partial launch abort system containing only the jettison motor, and Orion-to-stage adapter were evaluated.^[11] The spacecraft remained attached to the Delta IV's upper stage until re-entry began and relied on internal batteries for power rather than photovoltaic arrays, which were not contained in the structural representation.^[12] Data gathered from the test flight were analyzed by the critical design review (CDR) in April 2015.^[13]

After splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, crews recovered the EFT-1 Orion crew vehicle and will outfit the capsule for an ascent abort test in 2017.^[15]

Launch attempts[edit]

Gallery[edit]

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  First weld on the EFT-1 Orion structure, September 2011
  

  
  

  
  


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  Orion structure after final weld, June 2012
  

  
  

  
  


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  Orion's Service Module prior to encapsulation, December 2013
  

  
  

  
  


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  EFT-1 Orion Weight and Center of Gravity Test, June 2014
  

  
  

  
  


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  EFT-1 Orion back shell tile installation, September 2014
  

  
  

  
  


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  Completed EFT-1 Orion, September 2014
  

  
  

  
  


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  EFT-1 Orion in fairing and with LES, October 2014
  

  
  

  
  


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  EFT-1 Orion on its Delta IV Heavy, November 2014
  

  
  

  
  


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  The EFT-1 Orion before splashdown, 5 December 2014
  

  
  

  
  


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  Recovery of the EFT-1 Orion, 5 December 2014
  

  
  

  
  

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Exploration Flight Test-1.

• Orion MPCV homepage (NASA)


• EFT-1 Fact sheet (NASA)


• EFT-1 Press kit (NASA)


• Animation of the EFT-1 mission (NASA)


• Video of the launch of EFT-1 – 5 December 2014 (NASA)


• Video of the landing of the EFT-1 Orion – 5 December 2014 (NASA/U.S. Navy)


• Orion GTA-1 fabrication and configuration, Delta 4 Heavy images