Alliant Techsystems (ATK) was awarded a $1.8 billion contract to build the first stage rocket motors for the Orion space vehicle. The first stage motors from Alliant will be a departure from the solid/liquid combination in use today and will instead employ only solid fuel.

A nice documentary that lays out NASA's plan to build a space colony and the technology involved in the venture. In the video they cover the development and testing of new space suits, lunar habitats, mining the surface of the moon, extracting water and oxygen from lunar soils, and how the O

NASA is testing landing capsule cushions for the Orion crew vehicle. Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor for the Orion crew vehicle. The Orion craft will take over the role of the current shuttle fleet. It is currently estimated that the Orion will begin missions in 2015, leaving a 5 year gap when there will be no US manned flights into orbit. Budget problems are to blame for the delay (although a small gap was originally planned). The current shuttles will be retired in 2010.

A budget cut for NASA will delay the Orion shuttle launch. Congress has appropriated $545 million dollars less to the NASA budget than President Bush requested for the agency. NASA administrators claim that this will delay the Orion shuttle launches for an additional 4 to 6 months. The Orion shuttle is scheduled to replace the current Discovery shuttle, which will be retired in 2010. The original schedule called for Orion to start flights in 2014.

Here's what MSNBC reported from NASA administrator Michael Griffin:

Griffin said the gap between the shuttle's retirement and Orion's debut raises practical and strategic concerns.

NASA will continue missions to the international space station through 2020 with the, as yet undeveloped and unbuilt, Orion space craft until 2020. The current plan for shuttle fleets from NASA is to run missions using the current fleet until 2010. Between 2010 and 2014, NASA will rely on international partners to resupply the space station. In 2014 the fleet will be replaced with the Orion shuttle. The Orion Shuttle will run missions to the space station and the moon between 2010 and 2020. NASA plans to run at least two missions per year to the space station using the Orion Shuttle as well as missions in support of the planned moon colony.