NASA's Orion spacecraft breaks the long-held distance record of the farthest that any spacecraft designed to carry humans has traveled in outer space, beating the one held by the Apollo 13 mission.
The space capsule moved some 430,000 kilometers beyond the Earth on Monday and broke the historic feat while being uncrewed. If it successfully completes its flight without any mishaps, astronauts will soon be on the next flight that is scheduled in two years.
Orion Spacecraft's Breakthrough
The space agency is planning a series of increasingly complex missions using the Orion spacecraft. These are part of NASA's Artemis program, which aims to return humans to the lunar surface after more than five decades.
The milestone made by Orion on Monday marks the middle point of the space agency's Artemis mission. Officials noted that the halfway point affords experts an opportunity to take a look at what their margins are and in what areas they could improve upon and reduce risk to astronauts while understanding the spacecraft's performance for crewed flight during the next launch, as per BBC.
The Orion spacecraft has also been streaming back stunning video footage of its journey in outer space. Prior to reaching the record-breaking distance, it was able to capture dazzling images of the moon moving in front of our planet. The ESA module also delivered two key engine burns last week that placed Orion in a distant retrograde orbit.
The space capsule launched from Florida's Kennedy Space Center on Nov. 16 and is currently on a 26-day mission that seeks to stretch the craft's systems and ensure that it is safe to carry live astronauts.
According to Universe Today, the imagery integration head for the Orion Program at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, David Melendrez, said that each one of Orion's four solar array wings was equipped with a commercial off-the-shelf camera. These are mounted at the tip and have been highly modified for use in outer space and provide a view of the spacecraft's exterior.
Read Also : NASA's Orion Spacecraft Makes Closest Approach to the Moon, Captures Stunning Views of Earth, Lunar Surface
Farthest Distance From Earth
The official said that the arrays are capable of adjusting their position relative to the rest of the capsule, which will optimize the collection of sunlight converted into electricity to power Orion. Furthermore, this allows flight controllers on the ground at Mission Control Center to point the cameras at different parts of Orion for inspections and to document its space environment.
The Orion spacecraft continues its mission and is expected to return to Earth on Dec. 11, with engineers already finishing assessments, deeming the capsule to be cleared for re-entry. However, the capsule will require two further maneuvers in the following days to put itself on the correct trajectory to come home.
Recent footage from Orion's cameras showed the highest-definition live view from beyond the moon as of yet. While several science spacecraft have captured images of the Earth from farther distances, they were not broadcasted live unlike Orion.
Following the capsule's return to Earth, the next two missions, Artemis II and Artemis III are scheduled to launch in 2024 and 2025 or 2026 respectively, Space reported.
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