It has been reported NASA plans to launch Orion, the most significant human exploration mission since the space shuttle program, later this week. The Orion space craft was built with one thing particularly in mind: to take human beings farther into space than they ever have before.

The new space craft seeks to provide astronauts with new sustainability in deep space, including safe re-entry and deep-space emergency abort capabilities. The space agency is set to launch Orion for testing on December 4th,2014, attaching it to a Delta IV Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The test will conduct a two-orbit, four-hour operation, testing the critical safety systems on board the Orion.

The Orion test flight also plans to evaluate the launch and high speed re-entry systems in the avionics department, altitude control, parachutes, and the heat shield that are all essential to the success of the Orion space craft.

The test flight will be unmanned, as none of NASA astronauts will fly in Orion in the near future, even after a very difficult 12 years for NASA’s human exploration program and the Johnson Space Center, the launch of Orion is a monumental step for America’s space program; even if it is uncertain.

One of the largest questions opposing the Orion craft is weather or not NASA will obtain the funds it needs to launch Orion int a deep space mission. It has been reported that NASA has not yet returned to the moon because of such financial issues, and it may be Orion is hindered by the same inadequate funding.

When Orion does finally launch, it will be on the back of NASA’s newest heavy lift rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS) – the most powerful space rocket ever constructed. SLS is expected to be the rocket which eventually carries humans to Mars or even asteroid exploration.