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NASA’s Orion capsule arrived at the moon on Monday, circling the far side and buzzing the lunar surface on its way to a record-breaking orbit with test dummies sitting on it for the astronauts.
It’s the first time a capsule has visited the moon since NASA’s Apollo program 50 years ago, and it represents a major milestone in the $4.1 billion test flight that began last Wednesday.
According to flight director Judd Frieling, the video of the moon and our pale blue planet more than 230,000 miles away left workers at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, home of Mission Control, “in awe.” Even the flight controllers themselves were “absolutely stunned”.
“Just smiles on every level,” said Orion program director Howard Hu.
The closest approach of 81 miles occurred when the crew capsule and its three attached dummies were on the far side of the moon. Because of a half-hour communication blackout, flight controllers in Houston didn’t know if the critical engine ignition was OK until the capsule emerged from behind the moon. The capsule’s cameras sent back an image of Earth: a small blue dot surrounded by darkness.
The capsule accelerated well past 5,000 mph as it regained radio contact, NASA said. Less than an hour later, Orion lifted off over Tranquility Base, where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on July 20, 1969. There were no photos of the site because the flyover was in darkness, but managers they promised to try to take pictures on the return flyover. in two weeks
Orion needed to launch itself around the moon to gain enough speed to enter the warped and exposed lunar orbit. Another engine firing will place the capsule in this orbit on Friday.
Next weekend, Orion will break NASA’s distance record for a spacecraft designed for astronauts, nearly 250,000 miles from Earth, set by Apollo 13 in 1970. And it will continue, reaching a maximum distance from Earth next Monday near 270,000 miles.
The capsule will spend about a week in lunar orbit before returning home. A splash in the Pacific is expected on December 11.
Mission Manager Mike Sarafin was delighted with the mission’s progress, giving it a “cautiously optimistic A-plus” so far.
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