Early morning on Friday, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) took a major step toward its goal to send humans to planet Mars with the launch of the Orion spacecraft, the vehicle the U.S. space agency is planning to use for manned missions to an asteroid and the Red Planet.
At 7:05 a.m. EST on Dec. 5, Orion blasted off into space aboard a Delta Heavy rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. About 4.5 hours later, the spacecraft's crew module splashed down in the sea off Baja California.
During this time, scientists conducted tests simulating many of the riskiest events the cone-shaped spacecraft may encounter while transporting astronauts. By testing the spacecraft in space, engineers can collect crucial data that will allow them to enhance Orion's design and assess its performance.
The unscrewed flight tested the spacecraft's avionics, parachutes, computers, spacecraft separation events, and systems that are critical in ensuring the safety of the crew who will travel using Orion in the future. Although the Friday mission was unmanned, Orion is set to carry astronauts to an asteroid as early as 2021 albeit it will use a Space Launch System rocket that is currently being developed.
"With lessons learned from Orion's flight test, NASA can improve the spacecraft's design while building the first Space Launch System rocket," NASA said. "Following that, astronauts are gearing up to fly Orion on the second SLS rocket on a mission that will return astronauts to deep space for the first time in more than 40 years."
Orion reached 3,600 miles above the Earth during its maiden test flight. It circled the planet twice traveling through the Van Allen belt, where it was subjected to high radiation. NASA likewise reported that the vehicle hit speeds reaching 20,000 mph and withstood the temperature of nearly 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit as it entered the Earth's atmosphere.
"We really pushed Orion as much as we could to give us real data that we can use to improve Orion's design going forward," said Orion program manager Mark Geyer.
Test reports are so far encouraging. The capsule arrived intact, all of the eight parachutes deployed and the computers onboard were able to withstand the intense radiation in the Van Allen belts.
NASA shared some of the photos of the successful launch of the Orion spacecraft, including images captured by a camera onboard Orion showing the Earth as viewed from space and flames as Orion re-entered the atmosphere.
