53°F
weather icon Clear

Orion capsule enters far-flung orbit around moon on test flight

Updated November 25, 2022 - 5:28 pm

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — NASA’s Orion capsule entered an orbit stretching tens of thousands of miles around the moon Friday, as it neared the halfway mark of its test flight.

The capsule and its three test dummies entered lunar orbit more than a week after launching on the $4 billion demo that’s meant to pave the way for astronauts. It will remain in this broad but stable orbit for nearly a week, completing just half a lap before heading home.

As of Friday’s engine firing, the capsule was 238,000 miles from Earth. It’s expected to reach a maximum distance of almost 270,000 miles in a few days. That will set a new distance record for a capsule designed to carry people one day.

“It is a statistic, but it’s symbolic for what it represents,” Jim Geffre, an Orion manager, said in a NASA interview earlier in the week. “It’s about challenging ourselves to go farther, stay longer and push beyond the limits of what we’ve previously explored.”

NASA considers this a dress rehearsal for the next moon flyby in 2024, with astronauts. A lunar landing by astronauts could follow as soon as 2025. Astronauts last visited the moon 50 years ago during Apollo 17.

Earlier in the week, Mission Control in Houston lost contact with the capsule for nearly an hour. At the time, controllers were adjusting the communication link between Orion and the Deep Space Network. Officials said the spacecraft remained healthy.

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST
Netanyahu fires back at US criticism over handling of Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s call for a new election in Israel was inappropriate.

Historic Queen Mary in Long Beach undergoes over $45M in repairs

Repairs for the Queen Mary have cost the city of Long Beach more than $45 million over the last eight years, according to city records obtained by The Times, a hefty bill as the city looks to keep the historic ship on a fledgling path toward profitability.