{"id":19034,"date":"2022-11-26T00:55:17","date_gmt":"2022-11-26T00:55:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/11\/26\/nasas-orion-capsule-enters-far-flung-orbit-around-moon\/"},"modified":"2022-11-26T00:55:17","modified_gmt":"2022-11-26T00:55:17","slug":"nasas-orion-capsule-enters-far-flung-orbit-around-moon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/11\/26\/nasas-orion-capsule-enters-far-flung-orbit-around-moon\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA’s Orion capsule enters far-flung orbit around moon"},"content":{"rendered":"

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — <\/span>NASA\u2019s 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. <\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

As of Friday’s engine firing, the capsule was 238,000 miles (380,000 kilometers) from Earth. It’s expected to reach a maximum distance of almost 270,000 miles (432,000 kilometers) in a few days. That will set a new distance record for a capsule designed to carry people one day.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a statistic, but it\u2019s symbolic for what it represents,\u201d Jim Geffre, an Orion manager, said in a NASA interview earlier in the week. \u201cIt\u2019s about challenging ourselves to go farther, stay longer and push beyond the limits of what we\u2019ve previously explored.\u201d <\/p>\n

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. Astronauts last visited the moon 50 years ago during Apollo 17.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the week, Mission Control in Houston lost contact with the capsule for nearly an hour. At the time, controllers were adjusting the communication link between Orion and the Deep Space Network. Officials said the spacecraft remained health<\/a>y.<\/p>\n

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute\u2019s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n