Page 1 - Spec Tech Vol 1 Issue 10
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Dr. MGR-ACS Space Technology Centre
SPACE EXPLORER
“An Ingress to Borderless world”
Volume 01/Issue-10 Bimonthly 1-15, December 2022
NASA is over the moon with success of
Artemis 1 Orion test flight
Image Credit: NASA
Artemis 1 wrapped up Sunday afternoon the baton nicely, meeting all of its required mile-
(Dec. 11) with the successful splashdown of stones as well. The capsule arrived in orbit
an uncrewed Orion capsule in the Pacific around the moon on Nov. 25 and left on
Ocean about 100 miles (160 kilometers) off schedule six days later. On Dec. 5, Orion aced a
the coast of Baja California. Though a long engine burn during a close lunar flyby,
considerable amount of postflight analysis setting it on course for Earth. The homecoming
remains, NASA already views the 25.5-day- also went according to plan. Orion's 16.5-foot-
long Artemis 1 as a rousing success. "I don't wide (5 meters) heat shield — the largest of its
think any one of us could have imagined a type ever flown — protected the capsule during
mission this successful," Artemis 1 mission its fiery reentry to Earth's atmosphere on
manager Mike Sarafin said during a post Sunday. And its drogue and main parachute
splashdown briefing on Sunday. "We now systems deployed on time, slowing Orion's
have a foundational deep-space descent and enabling a soft splashdown. Orion
transportation system. "That system consists will soon be loaded onto the USS Portland, a
of Orion and the Space Launch U.S. Navy recovery ship, which will haul the
System (SLS) megarocket, which sent the capsule to San Diego. From there, the
capsule on its way to the moon on Nov. 16 spacecraft will be shipped overland to KSC,
from NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) where it will get a thorough inspection. NASA
in Florida. won't issue an official verdict on the test flight
until that work, and analyses of Orion's
It was the debut liftoff for the SLS, and the
huge vehicle performed nearly flawlessly, voluminous flight data, are concluded. But given
agency officials have said. Orion picked up how smoothly everything went on Artemis 1, the
final assessment is likely to be glowing.
Space Explorer 2022 1