JF Mezei wrote:

Of interest in the press release:

##
“We’re considering additional ground testing of the heat shield prior to
EM-1 as well as the possibility of advancing the ascent abort test for
the Orion launch abort system based on findings from the study,”
##


Is that PR speak for "these systems aren't quite debugged and and need
more work" ?


No, it's PR speak for "We have to slide the real test flight because
of the delivery date of the Service Module and we need to do something
other than sit on our hands in the 'empty time' while we're waiting
for integration and testing of the full up vehicle to complete."


EM-1 slips to 2019. NASA now working to set some date within 2019.


How far it slides will tell you just how late the Europeans are with
the Service Module and whether other parts are also late or not.


--
"Insisting on perfect safety is for people who don't have the balls to
live in the real world."
-- Mary Shafer, NASA Dryden