Weather delays Orion's move to launch pad, rescheduled for Tuesday

NASA's Orion spacecraft was supposed to be already situated atop the rocket that will carry it into low Earth orbit next month, but poor weather conditions prevented engineers from executing the six-hour haul to its launch pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

"The forecast Monday evening calls for winds and lightning that violate the constraints established for safely moving Orion," NASA said in a statement.

With weather clearing in Florida, space agency officials have rescheduled Orion's move for 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. The spacecraft -- which NASA hopes will eventually carry astronauts into deep space and headline a mission to Mars -- will be transported from its current home in the Launch Abort System Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center to Space Launch Complex 37.

There, on launch pad 37B, Orion will wait until December 4, when it's scheduled to take its first unmanned test flight. NASA confirmed this week's delay won't affect the craft's test flight schedule.

In just more than three weeks, the craft will rocket 3,600 miles up, orbit Earth twice, and then splash back down into the Pacific. The brief journey will allow scientists to ensure Orion's structure is prepared to handle the stresses of future missions.