All Eyes Are Watching Orion

Is Orion the start of great things? The controversial and expensive spacecraft is NASA's best hope at the moment to get to Mars and beyond (and maybe an asteroid before that).  And the test tomorrow may bring us closer to those goals.

In its press release, http://www.nasa.gov/content/orion-poised-for-first-trip-to-space, NASA stated:

From the launch on a gigantic United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy on Dec. 4 from Florida to the expected splashdown under billowing parachutes, the mission will test many of the riskiest events Orion will see when it sends astronauts to an asteroid and onward toward Mars in the future.

"Orion is the exploration spacecraft for NASA, and paired with the Space Launch System, or SLS, rocket it will allow us to explore the solar system," said Mark Geyer, program manager of Orion, which is based at Johnson Space Center in Houston.

After the recent U.S. spacecraft mishaps, we need a success story. And while we might have been able to develop cheaper systems steered towards other destinations, this is what we have at the moment. All the government eggs for a manned space mission are now in one basket. 

Godspeed, Orion.

Update:  Weather issues have delayed the launch by a day.   If the weather cooperates, the launch should occur Friday morning at 7:05am ET.

Second Update:  The Friday launch was successful (as shown below). At the time of this posting the mission was still ongoing.