Launch of the Orion Spacecraft Rescheduled for Thursday

NASA says this morning's test flight of the Orion spacecraft has been scrubbed.  The launch has been reset for tomorrow.

A liftoff time of 7:05 a.m. EST, has been set by NASA for Thursday, December 5, 2014.  It will be the opening of a two-hour, 39 minute-long window.

The following updates are from NASA blogger Steven Siceloff:

UPDATE: 12/04/2014 9:35am "Today’s launch attempt has been scrubbed. The launch team is resetting for a launch tomorrow morning."

UPDATE: 12/04/2014 9:30am "The launch team is aiming for the end of the window, scheduling a launch at 9:44 a.m. EST."

UPDATE: 12/04/2014 9:27am "The launch team will try another troubleshooting technique for the valve issue that developed after the previous try produced no change. The launch window has 20 minutes remaining."

UPDATE: 12/04/2014 9:07am "The fuel tanks of the Delta IV Heavy’s three core boosters will be pressurized and held for two minutes before the fill-and-drain valves are activated to see if they respond as they should. Again, the launch window today remains open until 9:44 a.m. EST."

UPDATE: 12/04/2014 8:51am "Cycling the fill and drain valves has shown that the core booster valve for the hydrogen tank is not showing as it should for launch."

UPDATE: 12/04/2014 8:33am "All the fill-and-drain valves on the three core boosters will be cycled open and closed to find out whether that solves the problem."

UPDATE: 12/04/2014 8:26am "A fill and drain valve on the rocket did not function correctly. Standing by as rocket and spacecraft are safed."

UPDATE: 12/04/2014 8:23am "HOLD."  "The propellant tanks of the second stage are securing at flight pressure."

UPDATE: 12/04/2014 8:22am "T-4 minutes and counting . . . Launch time is 8:26 a.m. EST."  "The arms reaching out to the Delta IV Heavy and Orion will retract to the tower at liftoff. The systems that will power the moves have been activated."

UPDATE: 12/04/2014  8:20am "All systems are reported ready for launch at 8:26 a.m. EST."

UPDATE: 12/04/2014 8:18am ET  "The Orion spacecraft is powered by its onboard batteries as the launch team moves toward liftoff at 8:26 a.m. EST."

UPDATE: 12/04/2014 8:16am ET "New Launch Time 8:26 a.m. EST."

While NASA is still working on the launch there is an opportunity to learn more about Orion through this NASA video, first released on YouTube in October 2014:

The following updates are from NASA blogger Steven Siceloff:

UPDATE: 12/04/2014 08:00 "The weather system over the launch site that is producing the wind gusts that have scrubbed the first two tries this morning is forecast to break in the next 45 minutes to an hour, reports Kathy Winters, weather officer with the 45th Weather Squadron. Our launch window this morning extends to 9:44 a.m. EST."

UPDATE: 12/04/2014 07:57 "Orion has moved its power source to ground again following this hold. The launch team is also moving through its prescribed steps to make sure the rocket and spacecraft systems are safe out at the launch pad."

UPDATE: 12/04/2014 07:53 "Another wind limit violation was recorded and the countdown was halted."

UPDATE: 12/04/2014 07:51 "The terminal countdown phase has restarted this morning as we move toward a launch at 7:55 a.m. EST."

UPDATE: 12/04/2014 07:46 "The launch team is resetting its clocks for a 7:55 a.m. EST."

UPDATE: 12/04/2014 07:44 "The launch team expects the winds to die down this morning thus allowing a launch today."

UPDATE: 12/04/2014 07:31 "While the wind conditions remain red, the launch team has moved Orion back to electrical power from the ground so it can save its batteries for flight."

UPDATE: 12/04/2014 07:16   "The launch team is working through options for setting a new liftoff time following the violation of ground wind rules."

UPDATE: 12/04/2014 07:13 "The countdown resumed and we are heading for a 7:17 a.m. EST liftoff. The Delta IV Heavy’s safe-and-arm devices are armed. The core stage tanks will be sealed at flight pressures one minute from now as the activity picks up."

UPDATE: 12/04/2014 07:11  "The final polls have been conducted and all the launch and flight teams report the spacecraft and rocket are go for liftoff at 7:17 a.m. EST. Next up: Countdown resumes at T-4 minutes."

UPDATE: 12/04/2014 06:59  "The launch conductor extended the countdown hold because of the range hazard and due to a second stage propellant conditioning issue."  The launch is expected to proceed once these issues are resolved.

Original Story:

During the four and a half hour mission the Orion will be sent 3,600 miles from Cape Canaveral in Florida to orbit the Earth twice.

Liftoff is scheduled for 7:05am ET.  The Orion will take off aboard a Delta IV Heavy rocket.  Once the mission is complete it will land in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California.

Although the Orion is being designed to carry astronauts on future missions, this first mission in unmanned.

You watch the launch live here:

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
Future missions are being planned into deep space, to Mars, and an asteroid.