Orion was first conceived as part of NASA's Constellation program, which was geared to return humans to the moon by 2020. However, last year the Obama administration the over-budget and behind-schedule Constellation program, deciding instead to focus on and further into the solar system.

The administration's new plan also involves turning NASA's attention to developing new engines, in-space fuel depots and robots that can venture out into space.

However, the President tried to fend off some of the criticism of his plan by enabling NASA to proceed with part of the Constellation program -- developing a version of the Orion crew capsule for use as an emergency escape craft for astronauts aboard the space station.

Once NASA retires the last of the space shuttle fleet this year, Orion may take on an important role in terms of giving NASA the ability to safely evacuate astronauts from the space station.

NASA has said that engineers there will put Orion's new crew module through a series of simulated landing scenarios at NASA Langley's new Hydro Impact Basin.