Orion 5

Orion 5

As of early 2009, crewed flights for NASA Project Constellation missions were planned to begin around 2014; an independent assessment by the Augustine Commission estimated that this would not occur until 2017-2019. The first launch of the suborbital Ares I-X launch system was in October, 2009, with a second test launch scheduled for 2012. However, on February 1, 2010, President Obama announced a proposal to cancel the Constellation program and effectively end the U.S. manned space program effective with the U.S. 2011 fiscal year budget.

Tests of the Launch Abort System were conducted in 2010.

The test flight of Ares V was planned for 2018, with lunar return flights beginning in 2019; the Augustine Commission estimated this would not actually occur until the late 2020s.