Orion spared the mothball treatment

The Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle.
Rendering by Lockheed Martin Corp.

Air Force One will land at Kennedy Space Center tomorrow. The bad news is Harrison Ford won't be on it. The good news is the White House released more information about the president's new plan for the space program. Information about the program's goals and funding are here, and information about what help the administration will give Florida’s aerospace workers is here.

Among the notable pieces of information is news that the Orion capsule, part of the shelved Constellation program, will be repurposed as an escape vehicle for the International Space Station. This calls for scaling back the design of the capsule. Since Orion was already described as cramped compared to the shuttle, it will be interesting to hear how astronauts evaluate the final product.