After traveling more than 1.4 million miles ( 2.2 million kilometers ) on a historic journeying to the Moon and back , NASA ’s Orion capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday following its near - gross test flight .
This hebdomad , NASA released a 24 - minute video highlighting some of the most exciting present moment from the 25.5 day mission , from the moment the Space Launch System ( SLS ) rocketlauncheduntil the Orion spacecraftparachuted its waydown .
SLS plagiarise off from Launch Pad 39B at Florida ’s Kennedy Space Center on November 16 , induct NASA ’s Artemis program that plans on returning humans to the Moon after more than 50 class .
NASA’s Orion spacecraft reached its maximum distance from Earth on November 28.Image: NASA
The video start off with the volatile launch , bring out a alone rocket POV as it get out the ground . SLS ’ two side boosters and four RS-25 engine produced a thumping 8.8 million pounds of driving force at liftoff , make it the most powerful arugula ever build up .
The rocket engine is then seen soaring through the saturnine skies , followed by a fiery tail . The side boosters and core stagecoach fell within the first 500 seconds of the commission , while the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage go Orion towards its trajectory before sort out from the spacecraft .
Afterwards , all focussing is on Orion . The video then indicate the interior of the crew cabin , which wasdecorated with obscure subject matter and mementos . The cheap roaring of the rocket launch are followed by the passive calm of place , with breathless views of Earth and the Moon take by Orion ’s television camera .
The uncrewed capsule is eerily quiet , with the back of Commander Moonikin Campos , amanikin design to collect flight data , towards the camera . But the inanimate commander is bask quite the prospect , with hauntingly memorable shots that reveal Earth and its satellite within the astuteness of infinite .
During the deputation , Orion performed two lunar flybys and came within a distance of 80 international mile ( 128 kilometers ) from the Moon ’s surface .
With a little less than 10 minutes left in the video , the Orion capsule begin its declivity back to Earth . Orion get from 20,000 mile per minute ( 32,100 kilometers per hr ) down to 20 mph ( 32 km / hr ) during its parachute - assisted descent . During its re - entranceway through Earth ’s atmosphere , Orion brave out temperatures of about 5,000 stage Fahrenheit ( 2,760 degrees Celsius ) , which is around half as blistering as the surface of the Sun , according to NASA .
The picture provide a dizzying POV as the space capsule get to its way down to the ocean , with the three chute fluttering overhead . Hunter last plop into the sea , terminate its unprecedented journeying to the Moon and back .
More : NASA Hid These Easter Eggs for Space Nerds on the Artemis 1 Orion Capsule
Artemis 1Artemis programDeep Space HabitatNASAOuter spaceSpacecraftSpaceflight
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