NASA finally announced the Orion spacecraft that will take humans into deep space is almost complete.

The U.S. space agency declared the completion of the construction phase on the spacecraft that will first transport six astronauts beyond the Moon to start the voyage towards Mars.

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Among the completed components of the spacecraft are the Orion crew module; the service module; a launch abort system and its adapter. These components will be transported to the launch pad on November 10 to be fitted onto a United Launch Alliance Delta IV heavy-lift rocket.

The unmanned rocket will be launched on a test flight on December 4, according to NASA.

Bill Hill, deputy associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development, said this is going to be the first of many space exploration milestone missions that will go beyond low Earth orbit and take astronauts into deep space where humans have never before traveled.

This first Orion test launch, which will be unmanned, will send it 3,600 miles from the Earth, about 15 times further than the International Space Station's orbital location.

Orion will return to Earth at a speed of 20,000 miles per hour to splash down in the Pacific Ocean. This test flight will gather information on improving system performance pivotal for crew safety. Of particular interest will be Orion's heat shield, altitude control and parachute deployment.

The team behind the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle mission is led by Lockheed Martin supported by United Technologies Aerospace Systems, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Honeywell and other U.S. companies.

As it arrives at Cape Canaveral Air Force Base, Orion will be hoisted some 170 feet to the top of the Delta IV rocket. Engineers are now working on the interface between the capsule and rocket for the Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) set for December 4.

NASA's aim is for Orion to launch its first manned space exploration mission by 2017.

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