( CNN ) -- NASA has put off the planned launch of its next-generation Orion spacecraft for a year , a setback to efforts to fly a successor to its aging space shuttles , the space agency announced Monday . The Orion space vehicle in this artist rendering from Lockheed Martin 's web site , wo n't see space until 2014 . `` September 2014 is when we are saying we will launch the first crew on the Orion , '' program manager Jeff Hanley told reporters in a conference call Monday . NASA officials plan to wrap up assembly of the International Space Station and retire the space shuttle fleet in 2010 , freeing up money to build and fly the new spacecraft . Cost concerns are at the root of the delay , but NASA is also giving itself wiggle room to deal with the unforeseen technical problems that will inevitably crop up , Hanley said . `` It 's the unknown unknowns that we have to hedge against , '' he said . `` Having some number of months of schedule flexibility to meet our commitment , in addition to having some number of months of cost -- dollars -- flexibility , is key to keeping ourselves in a healthy posture . '' Sometimes called `` Apollo on steroids , '' Orion is designed to ferry astronauts to and from the space station and eventually back to the moon . Unlike the space shuttles , which land like an airplane , Orion is a capsule that will parachute to a landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California . See photos of the full-size mock-up » . The new goal of September 2014 is a year later than NASA had planned to launch the first Orion , but still six months short of the March 2015 commitment date set by Congress . Program managers were hoping to fly the new vehicle much sooner than that to keep the gap between the last shuttle flight and the first Orion flight to a minimum . `` As we looked at the plan we had for September 2013 against the available dollars , it became clear to us that we needed to adjust our schedules , '' said Hanley .
Cost concerns are at the root of the delay , says program manager . Orion is sometimes called `` Apollo on steroids '' Unlike the space shuttle , Orion is a capsule that will parachute to a landing . The new goal of a September 2014 launch is a year later than NASA had planned .