NASA’s Orion enters the moon’s orbit
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 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 this 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.