NASA's Orion capsule liftoff postponed by valve issues, high winds

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Dec. 4 (UPI) -- After a stray boat, wind delays and a stuck valve, Orion's launch has been postponed until Friday morning.

Mission managers confirmed the "go" for Orion's unmanned test flight earlier this week, but they couldn't have predicted the winds that stalled Orion's takeoff Thursday morning.

NASA engineers rolled the mobile service tower away from the capsule and rocket just after midnight Wednesday, but after a number of delays, including a stuck liquid-oxygen drain valve on one or more booster engines, the launch was delayed for a day.

The liftoff would be the culmination of years of hard work and anticipation. NASA officials hope to bring Orion into low Earth orbit. After departing from Space Launch Complex 37 in Cape Canaveral, the craft will pierce through the atmosphere at 20,000 mph, propelled by a Delta IV-Heavy rocket. Once it achieves an altitude of 3,600 miles, it is scheduled to circle the planet twice and then fall back to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific. The whole trip will take less than five hours.

NASA scientists are more than proud of their new state-of-the-art spacecraft. But while officials are confident that the test will go smoothly, scientists really need to see Orion in action in order to be certain the capsule can handle the stresses of spaceflight. The space agency intends to use Orion to carry astronauts to the International Space Station by 2015 and to the moon beginning in 2020. Eventually, it will carry astronauts to Mars and beyond.

Orion's liftoff and journey around the globe -- whenever it happens -- will be live-streamed on NASA TV.