by On Dec. 11, 2022, NASA's uncrewed Orion capsule returned safely to Earth, bringing a successful end to the landmark Artemis 1 moon mission.
That homecoming was a fiery and dramatic one, as video from Orion shows: The capsule recorded its harrowing plunge through Earth's atmosphere, which left a trail of fire in the sky.
Artemis 1 kicked off on Nov. 16, 2022, when a Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket launched the uncrewed Orion from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
It was the first-ever liftoff for the SLS, the most powerful rocket currently in operation, and just the second for Orion.
The capsule aced a brief test flight to Earth orbit back in 2014, a jaunt that employed a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket.
The Artemis 1 Orion arrived in orbit around the moon on Nov. 25, 2022 and stayed there for nearly a week before beginning the long trek back to Earth.
On Dec. 11, the capsule slammed into our planet's thick atmosphere at about 24,500 mph (39,400 kph), posing a stiff challenge to its heat shield, the largest of its kind ever built.
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That homecoming was a fiery and dramatic one, as video from Orion shows: The capsule recorded its harrowing plunge through Earth's atmosphere, which left a trail of fire in the sky.
Artemis 1 kicked off on Nov. 16, 2022, when a Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket launched the uncrewed Orion from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
It was the first-ever liftoff for the SLS, the most powerful rocket currently in operation, and just the second for Orion.
The capsule aced a brief test flight to Earth orbit back in 2014, a jaunt that employed a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket.
The Artemis 1 Orion arrived in orbit around the moon on Nov. 25, 2022 and stayed there for nearly a week before beginning the long trek back to Earth.
On Dec. 11, the capsule slammed into our planet's thick atmosphere at about 24,500 mph (39,400 kph), posing a stiff challenge to its heat shield, the largest of its kind ever built.
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