NASA's Orion Capsule To Be Reborn As Escape Pod For Space Station

Orion Reborn A mock-up of Orion lies on the ground after a test set-up chute failed on July 31, 2008 NASA

From Popular Science:

President Obama also promised to commit to a new supersized rocket by 2015.

NASA's Orion crew capsule, which was part of the cancelled Constellation program, has been revived as an escape pod for the International Space Station. A smaller version of the capsule could launch on an Atlas or Delta rocket and eliminate the need to buy a multimillion-dollar Russian Soyuz spacecraft for emergency crew escape, Florida Today reports.

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