Many space scientists and space enthusiasts are eagerly waiting the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to launch its first crewed missions to deep space, but a new announcement by the United States space agency suggests those enthusiasts to wait for some more time. NASA said it has delayed its Orion space capsule’s first manned flight by two years, which means first manned mission will be launched in 2023.

Last year in December, NASA successfully conducted a test of an unmanned Orion capsule. During the test, the space agency collected some vital data which, according to the agency, could assist NASA engineers to make improvements to minimize risks during deep-space mission in near future.

Now, NASA said that there are still some factors that should be straightened out before launching a manned mission to deep-space. According to the agency, factors like technical drawbacks, management issues and budgetary problems need to be resolved before safely launching a mission.

NASA’s Orion capsule, which will take humans further into space with the ultimate destinations like Mars and asteroids, has been in the development stage from about 10 years. Bill Gerstenmaier, head of NASA's human spaceflight programs, said, “I wouldn't get too worried about these schedules. We can get to where we can have a very functional capability that's affordable, and we can continue to fly these exploration missions that will ultimately get us ready to go to Mars”.

As per some reports, some NASA officials think that the development process could take a long time, and the agency will not be able to launch a mission until 2023.