Yahoo – AFP,
Kerry Sheridan, 5 Dec 2014
Cape Canaveral (AFP) - The US space agency's Orion capsule made a flawless first test flight on Friday, in what NASA called a "significant milestone" in the years-long journey to Mars.
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| The United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket carrying NASA's first Orion deep space exploration craft takes off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on December 5, 2014 (AFP Photo/Joe Raedle) |
Cape Canaveral (AFP) - The US space agency's Orion capsule made a flawless first test flight on Friday, in what NASA called a "significant milestone" in the years-long journey to Mars.
The
unmanned spacecraft soared into space at 7:05 am (1205 GMT) atop a United
Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket that rumbled and roared as it climbed
into the pastel skies over the Florida coast at sunrise, leaving a plume of
smoke in its wake.
"It was
just a blast to see how well the rocket did," said Orion program manager
Mark Geyer, after technical issues with the rocket and wind gusts delayed the
first launch attempt Thursday.
"Being
near a launch -- a rocket that big -- you can feel it."
The
four-and-a-half hour flight was "picture-perfect" and "a
significant milestone for America's space program," said NASA commentator
Rob Navias.
It tested
crucial systems like the heat shield and parachute splashdown. NASA engineers
will carefully study the data it collected in the days and weeks to come to see
how the capsule withstood the stress of space flight.
Peak
height
The
spacecraft made two loops around the Earth smoothly, first orbiting about as
high as the International Space Station, which circles at an altitude of about
270 miles (430 kilometers).
Halfway
through the flight, a second stage engine burn went ahead as planned, to propel
the spacecraft higher than any vessel meant to carry people since the Apollo 17
moon mission in 1972.
About three
hours into the flight, at 10:11 am (1511 GMT), the spacecraft reached its peak
height of 3,604 miles above the Earth.
Four hours
24 minutes after launch, the spacecraft floated back to Earth, aided by a trio
of parachutes, before plunging into the waters 600 miles to the west of Baja
California, to be retrieved by the US Navy.
An analysis
of sophisticated sensors on the capsule should let NASA know how the heat
shield performed and if the temperature inside remained survivable for a
potential crew.
The
spacecraft's exterior heated to 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,200 Celsius) during
its re-entry to Earth's atmosphere at a velocity of 20,000 miles per hour.
Potential
future missions for Orion, which can fit four people at a time, include a trip to
lasso an asteroid and a journey to Mars by the 2030s.
"I
think it's a big day for the world, for people who know and love space,"
said NASA administrator Charles Bolden.
NASA has
already spent $9.1 billion on Orion and the powerful rocket meant to propel it
with crew on board, the Space Launch System (SLS).
Another
unmanned test flight is slated for 2018. The first Orion test flight with a
crew on board is scheduled for 2021, when total costs are projected to reach
$19 to $22 billion.
About $370
million dollars in equipment was at stake in Friday's launch.
NASA says
the Orion launch has reinvigorated a manned exploration program that has been
stagnant for more than three years since the last space shuttle carried a crew
of astronauts to the International Space Station.
The 30-year
shuttle program ended in 2011, leaving the United States no option but to pay
Russia to carry astronauts on its Soyuz capsules at a cost of $71 million per
seat.
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