Watch | NASA video shows Orion re-entering Earth at 32 times the speed of sound

Orion spacecraft, a key part of NASA’s Artemis I mission, made an iconic re-entry toEarth on Dec 11 last year. To mark the anniversary of this historic return, NASA released footage of the ship falling through the atmosphere at a whopping 32 times the speed of sound.

Orion was designed to take humans into deep space. It was launched using NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) on 16 Nov 2022.NASA paid a perfect tribute to the spacecraft by sharing the video of the fiery re-entry of the Orion capsule to Earth.

NASA highlighted the amazing footage on Monday, Dec 11, posting a one-minute clip of it on social media X and also linked the full 25-minute re-entry video of the Orion.

Orion: Spacecraft of many firsts

Orion was sent into space for 25 days, six of which were in orbit around the moon. It reached a distance of 434,500 kilometres (270,000 miles) away, travelling further than any spacecraft designed for humans so far, before plunging into our atmosphere at around 40,000 kilometres per hour (25,000 miles per hour). Hence, it became the first spacecraft designed by humans to reach the farthest into space.

Another first for Orion was its epic re-entry to Earth. It became the first spaceship designed for humans to attempt a “skip” re-entry, bouncing off the atmosphere like an incredibly expensive stone on a lake. This approach helped the craft land consistently at the same site, despite where it first entered the Earth’s atmosphere. Orion’s method of re-entry will play a pivotal role in the Artemis II mission.

“The skip entry will help Orion land closer to the coast of the United States, where recovery crews will be waiting to bring the spacecraft back to land,” Chris Madsen, Orion guidance, navigation, and control subsystem manager, explained in a statement ahead of the launch.

“When we fly crew in Orion beginning with Artemis II, landing accuracy will help make sure we can retrieve the crew quickly and reduces the number of resources we will need to have stationed in the Pacific Ocean to assist in recovery.”

NASA is now gearing up for the Artemis II mission, which will be the first-ever crewed flight aboard the Orion spacecraft, scheduled to be launched in Nov 2024.

(With inputs from agencies)