NASA counts down to Thursday spaceship test flight

They're counting down at NASA ahead of Thursday's long-awaited debut test flight of a U.S. spaceship designed to fly astronauts beyond Earth's orbit of the sun for the first time since the 1960s.

NASA administrator Charles Bolden says everyone at the agency is excited.

NASA ADMINISTRATOR CHARLIE BOLDEN SAYING:

"Tomorrow morning you will see us press harder than we've pressed before because for the first time in more than 40 years, this nation is going to launch a space craft intended to carry humans beyond the Earth's orbit. That is a big deal."

An unmanned version of an Orion capsule is scheduled to lift off aboard a Delta 4 Heavy rocket at 7:05 a.m. Eastern from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Program Manager Mark Geyer leads the project.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) NASA ORION PROGRAM MANAGER MARK GEYER SAYING:

"It does help this is unmanned. It's important this is unmanned because we actually structured the test to fly the riskiest p