Orion Spacecraft

NASA's Orion capsule made a blisteringly fast return from the moon Sunday, parachuting into the Pacific off Mexico to conclude a test flight that should clear the way for astronauts on the next lunar flyby. The incoming capsule hit the atmosphere at Mach 32, or 32 times the speed of sound, and endured reentry temperatures of 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celsius) before splashing down west of Mexico's Baja California near Guadalupe Island. A Navy ship quickly moved in to recover the spacecraft and its silent occupants three test dummies rigged with vibration sensors and radiation monitors. NASA needed a successful splashdown to stay on track for the next Orion flight around the moon, currently targeted for 2024. Four astronauts will make the trip. That will be followed by a two-person lunar landing as early as 2025. Astronauts last landed on the moon 50 years ago Sunday. After touching down on Dec. 11, 1972, Apollo 17's Eugene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt spent three da

The earlier record was set during the Apollo 13 mission at 248,655 miles (400,171 kms) from Earth

NASA's Orion capsule has entered an orbit stretching tens of thousands of miles around the moon, as it neared the halfway mark of its test flight. The capsule and its three test dummies entered lunar orbit more than a week after launching on the USD4 billion demo that's meant to pave the way for astronauts. It will remain in this broad but stable orbit for nearly a week, completing just half a lap before heading home. As of Friday's engine firing, the capsule was 238,000 miles (380,000 kilometers) from Earth. It's expected to reach a maximum distance of almost 270,000 miles (432,000 kilometers) in a few days. That will set a new distance record for a capsule designed to carry people one day. It is a statistic, but it's symbolic for what it represents, Jim Geffre, an Orion manager, said in a NASA interview earlier in the week. It's about challenging ourselves to go farther, stay longer and push beyond the limits of what we've previously explored. NASA considers this a dress rehearsa

Artemis 1 was supposed to orbit the moon, deploy some satellites, and settle into the orbit. It was meant to test SLS rocket and the Orion crew capsule

The Orion spacecraft's motor produces enough thrust to lift 66 large SUVs off the ground