Tag: splashes
NASA’s Orion capsule splashes to Earth after successful moon mission
The successful landing is another step in NASA’s mission to put people back on the moon’s surface by 2025.
Read more: NASA’s Orion capsule splashes to Earth after successful moon mission
Orion Splashes Down in Pacific, Ending NASA’s Historic Artemis 1 Moon Mission
The uncrewed Orion spacecraft performed a flawless splashdown in the Pacific Ocean earlier today, in what is a very promising and exciting start to the Artemis era of lunar missions.
After 25 Days in Space, NASA’s Orion Moon Capsule Successfully Splashes Down
After flying over 239,000 miles — and 80 miles over the surface of the moon — NASA’s uncrewed “Orion” capsule has returned from its 25-and-a-half day test flight in space.
NASA is still streaming its coverage. And CNN had emphasized that “This final step will be among the most important and dangerous legs of the mission.”
“We’re not out of the woods yet. The next big test is the heat shield,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told CNN in a phone interview Thursday, referring to the barrier designed to protect the Orion capsule from the excruciating physics of reentering the Earth’s atmosphere. The spacecraft will be traveling about 32 times the speed of sound (24,850 miles per hour or nearly 40,000 kilometers per hour) as it hits the air — so fast that compression waves will cause the outside of the vehicle to heat to about 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celsius)….
As the capsule reaches around 200,000 feet (61,000 meters) above the Earth’s surface, it will perform a roll maneuver that will briefly send the capsule back upward — sort of like skipping a rock across the surface of a lake…. “By dividing the heat and force of reentry into two events, skip entry also offers benefits like lessening the g-forces astronauts are subject to,” said Joe Bomba, Lockheed Martin’s Orion aerosciences aerothermal lead, in a statement….
As it embarks on its final descent, the capsule will slow down drastically, shedding thousands of miles per hour in speed until its parachutes deploy. By the time it splashes down, Orion will be traveling 20 miles per hour (32 kilometers per hour). While there are no astronauts on this test mission — just a few mannequins equipped to gather data and a Snoopy doll — Nelson, the NASA chief, has stressed the importance of demonstrating that the capsule can make a safe return.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.