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It's a plan to make the Orion capsule reusable—a key

April 18, 2018 by Devin Jones

It's a plan to make the Orion capsule reusable—a key step for future humans to return to Earth.

NASA has been a major contributor to the Orion program, even putting in a $10 million grant to help it make reusable craft. But the company's plans are still far from certain.

"It's more of a one-way street, but it's going to be a really big thing," said Jeff Stelter, president of NASA's commercial crew program.

The $10 million grant from NASA will go toward developing reusable spacecraft. NASA has already received $500 million from the U.S. government, and Stelter expects that number to grow further as NASA moves into the future.

NASA will not reveal how many people will be involved in the Orion project, but it is set to receive about $1.5 billion in funding over five years from the U.S. government.

As for what would be involved in the Orion program, Stelter said, "We are not going to discuss those details."

The space agency will also be working with commercial companies to develop reusable spacecraft that can be flown on the Moon to make it an attractive destination for astronauts.

"We are definitely talking about the idea of reusable lunar landing vehicles," Stelter said.

However, the agency is not planning on launching a spacecraft to explore the Moon or to land on Mars. The Orion program is set to be the second major human spaceflight mission—the first was a manned spacecraft launched on a commercial spacecraft from Hawaii.

With the Trump administration set to launch its first human spaceflight mission in 2018 and the moon as a potential target, NASA's human spaceflight program is still one of the key areas for exploration.

"It's a question of whether we can get it right for the human race," said Stelter. "It's difficult to say when we know that right now."This article is from the archive of our partner .

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