NASA Gears Up For First Orion Flight With Crew

Irene Klotz February 20, 2026

NASA Orion spacecraft — After 20 years of development and more than $24 billion, NASA’s Orion spacecraft is poised for its first crewed flight, a 10-day test run that is expected to lead to human missions to the lunar surface. Orion currently is the only spacecraft capable of crewed deep-space travel, but China and SpaceX are making progress on alternative transports.

Credit: Sam Lott/NASA

When NASA was 10 years old, it sent an Apollo crew around the Moon. Over the next four years, it launched seven more crews to the lunar surface, six of which successfully landed and all of which safely returned to Earth. In its 20s and 30s, the U.S. civilian space agency established a toehold in low...

Irene Klotz

Irene Klotz is Senior Space Editor for Aviation Week, based in Cape Canaveral. Before joining Aviation Week in 2017, Irene spent 25 years as a wire service reporter covering human and robotic spaceflight, commercial space, astronomy, science and technology for Reuters and United Press International.

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