--- title: Orion Mission Completed After Delayed Launch description: The Orion spacecraft successfully launched into space Friday morning, after NASA called off three successive countdowns on Thursday canonical: https://time.com/3619066/orion-launch-livestream-rescheduled-friday-nasa/ author: David Stout article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-12-05T10:30:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T22:25:37.000Z article:section: Science og:title: Watch Orion Blast Off Into Space og:description: Friday's successful attempt came after three postponements Thursday og:url: https://time.com/3619066/orion-launch-livestream-rescheduled-friday-nasa/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt44da66984c893f98/69876ce8524fc009c4deb305/nasa-orion-launch-03.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: NASA's Orion spacecraft, atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket, lifts off on its first unmanned orbital test flight from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Dec. 5, 2014, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch Orion Blast Off Into Space twitter:description: Friday's successful attempt came after three postponements Thursday twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt44da66984c893f98/69876ce8524fc009c4deb305/nasa-orion-launch-03.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Orion Successfully Completes Space Mission ## Video: Know Right Now: From Nationwide Protests to a Historic Space Launch [Watch (HLS stream): Know Right Now: From Nationwide Protests to a Historic Space Launch](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Cf00SD7w.m3u8) (1:19)  _Published 2014-12-05. Watch this week's #KnowRightNow to catch up on all the latest stories_ by [David Stout](https://time.com/author/david-stout/) and [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/) Updated: Dec 13, 2023 10:25 PM UTCPublished: Dec 5, 2014 10:30 AM UTC  NASA's Orion spacecraft, atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket, lifts off on its first unmanned orbital test flight from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Dec. 5, 2014, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. NASA's Orion spacecraft, atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket, lifts off on its first unmanned orbital test flight from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Dec. 5, 2014, in Cape Canaveral, Fla.Marta Lavandier—AP by [David Stout](https://time.com/author/david-stout/) and [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/) Updated: Dec 13, 2023 10:25 PM UTCPublished: Dec 5, 2014 10:30 AM UTC The Orion spacecraft successfully touched down in the Pacific Ocean Friday morning, 4.5 hours after launching into space. NASA had [called off](http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/december/orion-flight-test-nasa-tv-coverage-reset-for-friday-dec-5/#.VIEuCPTLdoo) three successive countdowns on Thursday in the wake of wind gusts and valve problems with the vessel, but the mission went off as planned Friday. “There’s your new spacecraft, America,” Mission Control commentator Rob Navias said moments before the Orion capsule landed in the water, [the AP reports](https://news.yahoo.com/nasa-tries-again-launch-orion-spacecraft-085238083.html). The experimental craft orbited the Earth twice and traveled a distance of 3,600 miles into space before the landing. The Orion project is a Lockheed Martin and Boeing joint venture that undertakes commercial and U.S. government launches. “The flight is designed to test many of the most vital elements for human spaceflight and will provide critical data needed to improve Orion’s design and reduce risks to future mission crews,” [read](http://www.nasa.gov/press/2014/december/orion-flight-test-nasa-tv-coverage-reset-for-friday-dec-5/) a NASA statement. ### A History of the Orion Spacecraft in Pictures  NASA's Orion spacecraft, atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket, lifts off on its first unmanned orbital test flight from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Dec. 5, 2014, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Chris O'Meara—AP  NASA’s Orion spacecraft awaits its first flight test on Dec. 4, 2014 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37 in Florida. Bill Ingalls—NASA  Team members work to secure a test version of Orion in the Pacific Ocean during a test recovery mission on Sept. 17, 2014. Kim Shiflett—NASA  An artist's illustration of the 38-story launch system with Orion on top. NASA / MSFC  A model of Orion floats above an underwater mockup of the International Space Station in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory in Houston on April 25, 2013. Bill Stafford—JSC/NASA  A version of the engine that will power Orion's launch system burns during a hot-fire test on Nov. 27, 2012 at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. NASA/SSC  The NASA team at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans completed the final weld on the first space-bound Orion capsule, on June 22, 2012. NASA  Orion's launch system undergoes a hot-fire test. Aerojet Rocketdyne  The Orion capsule sits within the Vehicle Assembly Building on May 24, 2012 in NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Dmitri Gerondidakis—NASA  An artist's illustration of Orion's Flight Test NASA  The 16.5 ft. diameter, titanium heat shield was fabricated by Lockheed Martin in Denver for the Orion spacecraft. The shield will have to withstand temperatures of 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Patrick H. Corkery—Lockheed Martin  A test model of the Orion spacecraft was dropped high above the the Arizona desert on Feb. 29, 2012. NASA  Ground teams in White Sands, New Mexico, practice an abort test on Sept. 24, 2009. NASA ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3619066/orion-launch-livestream-rescheduled-friday-nasa/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3619066/orion-launch-livestream-rescheduled-friday-nasa/"},"headline":"Orion Successfully Completes Space Mission","datePublished":"2014-12-05T10:30:56.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T22:25:37.000Z","description":"After three postponements Thursday","url":"https://time.com/3619066/orion-launch-livestream-rescheduled-friday-nasa/","keywords":["Space","NASA","Mars","Orion","video","astronauts","Space Exploration","spacecraft","launch","livestream"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt44da66984c893f98/69876ce8524fc009c4deb305/nasa-orion-launch-03.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David Stout","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/david-stout/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt44da66984c893f98/69876ce8524fc009c4deb305/nasa-orion-launch-03.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"NASA's Orion spacecraft, atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket, lifts off on its first unmanned orbital test flight from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Dec. 5, 2014, in Cape Canaveral, Fla.","caption":"NASA's Orion spacecraft, atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket, lifts off on its first unmanned orbital test flight from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Dec. 5, 2014, in Cape Canaveral, Fla.","creditText":"Marta Lavandier—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/space/","name":"Space"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3619066/orion-launch-livestream-rescheduled-friday-nasa/","name":"Orion Successfully Completes Space Mission"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Know Right Now: From Nationwide Protests to a Historic Space Launch","description":"Watch this week's #KnowRightNow to catch up on all the latest stories","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Cf00SD7w/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-12-05T15:44:29.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Cf00SD7w.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3619066/orion-launch-livestream-rescheduled-friday-nasa/","duration":"PT1M19S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3619066/orion-launch-livestream-rescheduled-friday-nasa/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```