The Orion ship won't fly until 2014

NASA says the Orion spacecraft, designed to replace the space shuttle, won't be launched until 2014 because of technical difficulties and budgetary pressures - meaning a four year gap between the last shuttle mission and the new vehicle's first flight. Matt McGrath reports:

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NASA had hoped that additional funding from the US congress would have allowed an earlier launch but this has not been authorised. The delay means that the United States will be dependant on the Russian space agency to ferry crews to the ISS for almost four years.

Launched on top of a two stage Ares rocket, the Orion space craft is a crucial part of NASA's vision for the future, as it will be part of the programme that includes returning astronauts to the moon by 2020.

The Constellation program, as it is called, has come in for strong criticism  on the grounds of safety. The Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel said the new vehicle might not be capable of providing adequate protection against hazards that will only come to light once the spacecraft is in operation. NASA, according to the report, was not putting enough emphasis on safety and reliability, and the program was facing difficulties with money, morale and leadership.

Matt McGrath, BBC

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due to retire
planned to be taken out of service

on the launch pad
ready to be sent into space (literally, a launch pad is a special area from which rockets or missiles are sent into the sky)

to accelerate
to speed up

additional funding
more money (than originally allocated)

to ferry crews
to carry astronauts into space and back (here, a crew means a group of people working together on board a spacecraft)

a crucial part of NASA's vision
a very important part of NASA's long-term plan

come in for strong criticism
been the object of/received many negative comments

on the grounds of safety
for safety reasons

come to light
become apparent/known

putting enough emphasis on
taking seriously enough (as a priority)

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