NASA's Orion spacecraft returns to dry land in San Diego
- 10 years ago
The NASA Orion spacecraft is back on land.
Crews in San Diego hauled the capsule on shore Monday night three days after its flawless, unmanned debut test flight around Earth.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) SUNITA WILLIAMS, NASA ASTRONAUT, SAYING:
"This proves a whole lot of different things for us. It's going to give us a whole lot of data to create the next generation of spacecraft, similar to this one, that's going to take humans farther than Earth's orbit. This was a needed stepping stone."
The capsule is designed to one day take astronauts to Mars.
NASA launched Orion from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Friday.
This $375 million flight was to verify that Orion's heat shield, parachutes, avionics and other equipment would work as designed.
The capsule made a near-bullseye splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, where the USS Anchorage picked up the ship and brought it back.
NASA officials say they've got great momentum.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) JEREMY
Crews in San Diego hauled the capsule on shore Monday night three days after its flawless, unmanned debut test flight around Earth.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) SUNITA WILLIAMS, NASA ASTRONAUT, SAYING:
"This proves a whole lot of different things for us. It's going to give us a whole lot of data to create the next generation of spacecraft, similar to this one, that's going to take humans farther than Earth's orbit. This was a needed stepping stone."
The capsule is designed to one day take astronauts to Mars.
NASA launched Orion from Cape Canaveral, Florida on Friday.
This $375 million flight was to verify that Orion's heat shield, parachutes, avionics and other equipment would work as designed.
The capsule made a near-bullseye splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, where the USS Anchorage picked up the ship and brought it back.
NASA officials say they've got great momentum.
(SOUNDBITE) (English) JEREMY