Splashdown! Orion completes successful maiden voyage

After orbiting the Earth twice, NASA's Orion spacecraft completed its maiden voyage and returned safely to Earth.

After orbiting the Earth twice and climbing 15 times higher than the orbit of the International Space Station, NASA's new spacecraft, Orion, today completed its maiden voyage and returned safely to Earth.

After lifting off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 7:05 a.m. ET, the uncrewed Orion splashed down right on target in the Pacific Ocean, almost four and a half hours later. At mid-day, a recovery team made up of members of the U.S. Navy, NASA and Lockheed Martin was in the process of securing and retrieving the spacecraft.

"America has driven a golden spike as it crosses a bridge into the future," said a NASA announcer, moments after Orion made what he called a "bulls-eye" splashdown for America's newest spacecraft. "This was a perfect mission."

Today's mission was the first test flight for Orion, which is designed to be NASA's next deep-space vehicle. The space agency expects Orion to take space exploration beyond simply putting robotic rovers on Mars by taking humans to the Red Planet and bringing them home safely.

The flight appeared to go like clock work. After launch, the spacecraft successfully tested the motor for its new abort system, climbed into a first orbit that had it on the same level as the space station and then two hours into its trip, climbed much higher, reaching 3,600 miles above Earth.

Orion's journey included two passes through the Van Allen belts, an area around the planet known for its high radiation levels.

NASA briefly noted this afternoon that the radiation had no effect on the spacecraft's computers -- designed to be rugged in space -- or on its shielding. It wasn't immediately clear, however, whether any of the computers reset during the flight.

"Although this was an unmanned mission, we were all onboard Orion," Mike Sarafin, Orion flight director for NASA, said on NASA TV this afternoon. "Today was a great day for America."

This flight served as a testing ground for a variety of technology -- some old, some new -- onboard Orion.

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Splashdown! Orion completes successful maiden voyage