NASA tests spacecraft made for exploration

From NASA Reports
The Orion is the new spacecraft for human exploration. NASA image: Sandra Johnson and Kevin Campbell
The Orion is the new spacecraft for human exploration. NASA image: Sandra Johnson and Kevin Campbell

    The Orion spacecraft completed its first voyage to space Dec. 5, traveling farther than any spacecraft designed for astronauts in more than 40 years, according to NASA.


    The test flight,which did not include a crew, lifted off at 7:05 a.m. EST, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The crew module splashed down approximately 4½ hours later in the Pacific Ocean, 600 miles southwest of San Diego.
    Orion traveled twice through the Van Allen belt – an area of intense ionizing radiation that surrounds the Earth’s outer atmosphere. The spacecraft also reached an altitude of 3,600 miles above Earth, hit speeds of 20,000 mph and weathered temperatures approaching 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit as it entered Earth’s atmosphere.
    The test allowed engineers to evaluate Orion's performance and improve its design. The flight tested the heat shield, avionics, parachutes, computers and key spacecraft separation events, exercising many of the systems critical to the safety of astronauts who will travel in Orion.
    On future missions, Orion will launch on NASA’s Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket currently under development. The crew module will be refurbished for use in Ascent Abort-2 in 2018, a test of Orion’s launch abort system.
    Lockheed Martin Corp., NASA’s prime contractor for Orion, began manufacturing the crew module in 2011.

    Related:

    NASA In Brief -- Mars rocket in development