Astronauts get first look at the spacecraft that will fly them around the moon

By MARCIA DUNN
AP Aerospace Writer

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — The four astronauts assigned to fly around the moon next year have gotten their first look at their spacecraft. They inspected their Orion capsule during a visit to Florida’s Kennedy Space Center late Monday and Tuesday. NASA plans to send the U.S.-Canadian crew around the moon and back late next year. Investigations into the capsule’s heat shield, however, could delay astronauts’ first lunar trip in more than a half-century. NASA said Tuesday that the following moon landing mission also faces possible delays and could slip from 2025 into 2026.