ORION Project

The ORION project or the SPARTAN-I Program was the phase one of the Spartan Supersoldier program. Initiated in 2491, as an element of the ORION project, not much is known about this first generation of warriors (their training, augmentation, goals, etc.).

The original Spartan Project was created to test genetic enhancements on volunteers from the armed forces. . These enhancements were the precursors to the enhancements used in the Spartan-II program. The mortality rate for those injected was high, a factor which contributed largely to the failure of the program. Those who survived the injection(s) had a greatly increased rate of mental problems later on in life. It is not known at this time how many soldiers participated in this program. However, it is mentioned that there are several offspring, some of which were chosen for the Spartan-II program. Some of the others tried to create their own army to fight the Covenant but just as they were about to bring the fight to the Covenant, the Covenant invaded Earth.

However, they were successful enough to garner the necessary consent and funding for a second phase, aptly named SPARTAN II.

Known Participants

 * James Lee (original name Jim Lee) - KIA
 * Gilly James - Retired
 * Morales - Retired
 * Gladys Wilson - Retired
 * Sergeant Major Avery Johnson - KIA (Assumed)
 * Franklin Mendez? ( Possible. See Halo: Ghosts of Onyx page 129 ) - Active, in the Shield World

Halo: Ghosts of Onyx Page 129
"Tom and Lucy should already be there" Mendez said. He moved to the zip line that stretched from the tree house top to the jungle floor. He grabbed the line, wrapped slide casing on and then jumped over the edge. For a man pushing sixty, the Chief moved like a soldier thirty years younger. It wasn't the first time Kurt had wondered what kind of Spartan he would have made.

Halo: Contact Harvest Page 47
A few seconds later Avery's service record appeared on the pad. ORION, KALEIDOSCOPE, TANGLEWOOD, TREBUCHET. Dozens of programs and operations, most of which Downs has never heard of.

Spartan 1.1
The children of Spartan 1.0 are called Spartan 1.1s, including Janissary James and Kevin Morales. There are 16 1.1s. They have much of the same augmentations as their parents.

Trivia

 * Project Orion was also a spacecraft program in the real world. It was the first engineering design study of spacecraft powered by nuclear pulse propulsion. Its supporters felt that it had great potential for space travel, but it lost political approval because of concerns with fallout from its propulsion. The Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963 is generally acknowledged to have ended the project.