Brief:
Many parts of the new NASA Constellation program has already been modeled. In today's market, it is difficult to find a manned space subject that is not already been produced.

After research, I was not able to find a current model of the new Orion ATB. If you think it looks like a Little Joe, you're right! This rocket will be used in the same manner as the Little Joes were.

Construction:
After inventorying my available parts, I eyed a spare Estes Gauchito kit. After tearing it open, I discovered that I could use most of this kit as a basis for the Orion ATB.

Doing some math showed that a model would be 1:120 scale. This was determined by using my method of importing a photo into AutoCAD and creating a scaled, dimensioned drawing.

I haven't used RockSim in several years. I downloaded the latest demo and started inserting the parts.

Overall, I feel that I came up with a satisfactory model with not much work. I'm sure an experienced used could overcome my issues.

First, the wood dowel needed to continue through the transition. I couldn't figure out how to do this.

Second, the booster rocket nozzles are conical. I couldn't find a good way to model them.

Basic low power construction techniques were used. The exception was the use of plexiglass for the fins.

The booster nozzles were built by wrapping paper around a pen tip. The paper was then soaked with CA. After drying, they were cut to size and mounted.

A ¼" hole was drilled in the tip of the capsule. The wood dowel continued down to the base of the cone and glued in the recess design for the shock cord. This kept the dowel centered and secure.

Finishing:
The clear fins were masked and a spray coat of white was applied. Logos of NASA, Space development and Testing, and Orbital were found on the web, and sized.

The logos were simply glued onto the body. Minor details were also added on the capsule.

PROs of the design: Very easy to build if you have a spare Gauchito kit lying around!

CONs: The clear fins detract from the actual model.

Flight and Recovery:
The two test flights of the orion were unsuccessful. These were on A10-3T's. However, there just wasn't enough umph to get it up & stable. I ended up using some plexiglass for the four fins. In hind site, this probably added tail weight. So unless I rebuild, this one is a shelf queen.