Successful Test Flight of NASA's Orion Ushers In New Era Of Space Exploration

Space fans were joyous today as NASA's Orion spacecraft, which signals a new era in manned space exploration, successfully performed its first test flight.

Today's success comes after yesterday's failure, when delays due to high winds and a stray boat in the launch area, along with problems with Orion's rocket, kept the spacecraft from launching.

Although engineers designed Orion for manned space flight, yesterday's test flight only included some equipment and souvenirs, including a Captain Kirk (Star Trek) doll owned by actor William Shatner.

Today's launch happened early in the launch window at around 7 a.m. EST. The 20,000-pound spacecraft spent about 4 ½ hours in Earth's orbit and then came back to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean a little over 600 miles from San Diego, only a mile off its target. There it was picked up by a U.S. navy team.

"There is your new spacecraft, America," said a NASA spokesman as Orion landed perfectly in the ocean.

During its flight, Orion's heat shield saw temperatures of up to 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit while traveling at around 20,000 miles per hour around Earth's orbit. Other NASA representatives called the launch, flight and splash down "perfect" and a "significant milestone." Orion is NASA's first spacecraft for manned missions since the space shuttle. Orion will eventually carry astronauts into deep space, including on a mission to an asteroid, with the primary goal of eventually carrying astronauts to Mars. NASA administrator Charles Bolden Jr. called today's test flight "Day One of the Mars era." Orion is also the first spacecraft designed for astronauts to travel so far from Earth, since Apollo 17, NASA's final manned moon mission in 1972.

"Today was a great day for America," says Orion's Flight Director Mike Sarafin while at Mission Control in Houston. "While this mission was unmanned, we were all aboard Orion."

[Photo Credit: NASA]