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.
Key pieces of the mission were developed and tested at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. Engineers in Alabama, powering the launches of the first U.S. satellite, first astronaut in space, and first men to the moon.
And while no one was on the $4 billion test flight, NASA managers were thrilled to pull off the dress rehearsal, especially after so many years of flight delays and busted budgets. Fuel leaks and hurricanes conspired for additional postponements in late summer and fall. Getting Orion back intact after the 25-day flight was NASA’s top objective. With a return speed of 25,000 mph — considerably faster than coming in from low-Earth orbit — the capsule used a new, advanced heat shield never tested before in spaceflight. To reduce the gravity or G loads, it dipped into the atmosphere and briefly skipped out, also helping to pinpoint the splashdown area.
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