What does NASA have left to do to complete the Orion spacecraft?

Question

They are still doing safety tests and building the rocket, but what exactly is their plan in completing the project. What are the steps they are following, and what is the expected time table?

Satan Claws · Answer

They may just have to dump it for something less expensive. But Congress can override that decision at the expense of other programs such as science research (my guess is that anything having to do with Earth Sciences or with Public Outreach would be on the top of the list for funding cuts).

Have a look at this article from November 2016: https://arstechnica.com/science/2016/11/nasa-realizes-sls-and-orion-are-too-expensive-opens-door-to-competitors/

And then read this, from March 2017: https://arstechnica.com/science/2017/03/new-report-nasa-spends-72-cents-of-every-sls-dollar-on-overhead-costs/

quantumclaustrophobe · Answer

At the bottom of the Wikipedia page, there's a timeline:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_(spacecraft)

First crewed launch (MAYBE) will be Exploration Mission 1, in November of 2019.  They may fly it unmanned, however...

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What does NASA have left to do to complete the Orion spacecraft?

2 Answers