Orion Splashdown: One Small Step Towards Mars

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The Orion spacecraft has successfully splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, after travelling 60,000 miles and further than any human has gone in more than 40 years.

The unmanned four-hour flight was testing crucial systems, like the heat shield and parachute splashdown, on a spacecraft which could put humans back on the Moon in the early 2020s, followed by Mars in the 2030s.

According to mission control, Orion successfully reached its peak altitude of 3,604 statute miles - that's the furthest any spaceship has been away from Earth since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972.

The maiden voyage was described as "very stable" and "flawless" by NASA. A commentator added: "Every single system on this spacecraft functioned by the book, from start to finish."

Astronauts at the International Space Station watched a video of the test flight, which was 15 times higher than the station's orbit.

The spacecraft, which blasted off aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket at 12.05pm UK time, landed in the Pacific Ocean near San Diego just before 4.30pm, and is being retrieved by the US Navy.

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Gallery: New Spacecraft To Debut This Week

NASA prepares to test flight new spacecraft Orion. Pic: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Orion will eventually carry people beyond Earth's orbit

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This illustration by NASA shows the launch

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The flight will end with a splash in the Pacific. Here is a drill carried out this year

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Rocket boosters for Orion's first flight, scheduled for Thursday at Cape Canaveral

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An unmanned, aerial aircraft - equipped with infrared and other cameras - recorded Orion's triumphant return after it successfully travelled around the earth twice, capturing the moment when the spacecraft opened its parachutes.

More than 1,200 sensors have been installed throughout Orion - with 15 miles of wiring - to determine if a crew could survive the temperatures inside the cabin.

As the spacecraft re-entered Earth's atmosphere, it was hurtling at a velocity of 20,000mph and experienced more than eight times the force of gravity. Orion's heat shield is believed to have withstood temperatures of 2,200C (4,000F).

At the launch site, cars packed roads for miles around as thousands tried to catch a glimpse of the event, which was postponed for 24 hours owing to high winds. About $370m (£235m) worth of equipment was at stake.

"I think it's a big day for the world, for people who know and like space," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a NASA Television interview before the launch.

"Everything may not go right, but everything that does go right means that we've bought down one more risk on this vehicle."

He called the launch "day one of the Mars era".

NASA has spent $9.1bn (£5.8bn) on Orion and the Space Launch System, which is meant to propel it with a crew on board. The next unmanned test flight of Orion - its second - is only due to take place in 2018.

Meanwhile, the debut launch with astronauts on board is pencilled in for 2012, when the total cost of Orion is expected to reach between $19bn and £22bn (£12bn and £14bn).

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