NASA's Orion Capsule, Designed To Fly Astronauts To The Moon, Gets Major Component From Europe

This is the first time that the U.S. space agency uses a European-built system as a critical element to power an American spacecraft.

"This is the system that will enable humans to move sustainably into deep space [...] and leave the Earth-moon system for the first time ever," said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for human exploration and operations.

Once in Florida, the ESM will be connected to the Orion crew module and together will undergo more than a year's worth of intensive testing ahead of the spacecraft's maiden voyage in 2020.

Known as Exploration Mission-1, or EM-1, this first spaceflight will take the Orion on a three-week journey around the moon and prepare the spacecraft for its first manned mission — EM-2, slated to launch in 2022.

One notable thing about the Orion crew module, which was built by Lockheed Martin, is that it is the first deep-space craft to incorporate 3D-printed components, as previously reported by the Inquisitr.

By the time the first astronauts climb aboard the Orion, the spacecraft will have already traveled nearly 40,000 miles beyond the moon during EM-1. That's farther into space than any human-rated spacecraft has ever ventured, notes ESA.

The mission is designed to demonstrate system capabilities and prove that the capsule can sustain the crew during its first manned launch. Since the spacecraft will discard the ESM before returning to Earth, the Orion will use another module for EM-2.

Airbus is already working on this second ESM and has even begun preparations for a third space trip of the Orion capsule. Following the EM-2, NASA and ESA are planning on launching the spacecraft on a yearly basis — "making the Orion project both politically and economically important at a time when China and other countries are racing to gain a foothold in space," per Reuters.