{"id":686,"date":"2022-11-30T16:32:16","date_gmt":"2022-11-30T16:32:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dereumlabs.com\/global\/?p=686"},"modified":"2022-11-30T16:32:18","modified_gmt":"2022-11-30T16:32:18","slug":"orion-breaks-apollo-13-record-reaches-maximum-distance-from-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.dereumlabs.com\/global\/news\/orion-breaks-apollo-13-record-reaches-maximum-distance-from-earth\/","title":{"rendered":"Orion breaks Apollo 13 record: reaches maximum distance from Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NASA\u2019s uncrewed Orion spacecraft reached the farthest distance from Earth it will travel during the\u00a0Artemis I\u00a0mission \u2014 268,563 miles from our home planet \u2014 just after 3 p.m. CST. The spacecraft also captured imagery of\u00a0Earth and the Moon together\u00a0throughout the day, including of the Moon appearing to eclipse Earth.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Orion\n\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Reaching the\u00a0halfway point\u00a0of the mission on Flight Day 13 of a 25.5 day mission, the spacecraft remains in healthy condition as it continues its journey in\u00a0distant retrograde orbit, an approximately six-day leg of its larger mission thousands of miles beyond the Moon.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause of the unbelievable can-do spirit, Artemis I has had extraordinary success and has completed a series of history making events,\u201d said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. \u201cIt\u2019s incredible just how smoothly this mission has gone, but this is a test. That\u2019s what we do \u2013 we test it and we stress it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Engineers had originally planned an orbital maintenance burn today but determined it was not necessary because of Orion\u2019s already precise trajectory in distant retrograde orbit. Based on Orion\u2019s performance, managers are examining adding seven additional test objectives to further characterize the spacecraft\u2019s thermal environment and propulsion system to reduce risk before flying future missions with crew. To date, flight controllers have accomplished or are in the process of completing 37.5% of the test objectives associated with the mission, with many remaining objectives set to be evaluated during entry, descent, splashdown, and recovery. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

NASA\u2019s Exploration Ground Systems team and the U.S. Navy are beginning initial operations for recovery of Orion when it splashes down in the Pacific Ocean. The team will deploy Tuesday for training at sea before return to shore to make final preparations ahead of splashdown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Managers also closed out today a team formed earlier in the mission to investigate readings associated with the spacecraft\u2019s star trackers after determining the hardware is performing as expected and initially suspect readings are a byproduct of the flight environment.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flight controllers also have completed 9 of 19 translational burns and exercised the three types of\u00a0engines\u00a0on Orion \u2013 the main engine, auxiliary thrusters, and reaction control system thrusters. Approximately 5,640 pounds of propellants have been used, which is about 150 pounds fewer than prelaunch expected values. More than 2,000 pounds of margin remain available beyond what teams plan to use for the mission, an increase of more than 120 pounds from prelaunch expected values. So far, teams have already sent more than 2,000 files from the spacecraft to Earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n