NASA readies to send Orion capsule on its maiden voyage

CAPE CANAVERAL, FL (KTRK) -- NASA says it is ready to send its next generation space craft on its maiden voyage.

The Orion capsule is scheduled to launch this morning at 6:05am CT from Kennedy Space Center. Weather right now is favorable. Mission managers say there's only a 30 percent chance of conditions which might force a scrub. They are currently working no technical issues.

Lead Flight Director Mike Serafin says, "Now its game time. Now it's really time to pay off and see this mission."

Orion was designed following the retirement of the space shuttle as a vehicle to carry NASA astronauts further into space than ever before. The capsule will launch atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket, punching through the atmosphere into space.

This is a test flight of Orion, "Exploration Flight Test 1" or "EFT-1". It's a test to gather data on how the vehicle performs as it orbits earth twice and climbs to 3,600 miles. That's 15 times higher than the International Space Station.

Engineers say it will stop to take a picture of Earth from that great distance, the furthest a camera has done since the days of Apollo. Then the capsule is to begin its return home, screaming back to Earth at nearly 20,000 miles per hour. When it begins to encounter the atmosphere again, the capsule will endure extreme heat. NASA says it will be inside a fireball of plasma with temperatures exceeding 4,000 degrees. Giant chutes are set then to deploy, to slow the vehicle down. Finally, it should splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, several hundred miles off San Diego where it will be retrieved by a U.S. Navy ship and NASA personnel.

Astronaut Cady Coleman cautions that space exploration and flight tests are inherently risky. "This is a tough business. It's a risky business. Its a dangerous business and if you dont fail sometimes, its because you're not reaching high enough," Coleman says.

Eyewitness News Reporter Kevin Quinn is in Florida at the Kennedy Space Center. His live coverage begins at 5am and continues throughout the day. You can also follow him for more behind the scenes pictures and information on Twitter and Instagram (@ikmkevinquinn) and Facebook (abc13-Kevin Quinn).