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Follow live updates as NASA targets 12:39 p.m. ET, Sunday, Dec. 11, for the splashdown of an uncrewed Orion spacecraft in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. It marks the conclusion of the agency’s Artemis I test flight to the moon and back.
Orion will blaze back into the Earth’s atmosphere at 25,000 mph before “skipping” out to bleed off speed and the g-forces associated with atmospheric re-entry from a lunar trajectory. It will then dip back into the atmosphere for its final descent and slow to about 300 mph. Parachutes will be deployed to slow the spacecraft to just 20 mph before splashing down in the ocean.
The spacecraft will puncture back into Earth’s atmosphere faster and experience hotter re-entry temperatures than any other spacecraft designed for human spaceflight in addition to traveling the record-breaking farthest distance from Earth.
The conclusion of Orion’s 1.4 million mile journey comes 25 and a half days after launching atop NASA’s 322-foot Space Launch System rocket on Wednesday, Nov. 16, from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
It wraps up a mission dedicated to pushing Orion to the limits ahead of hosting numerous astronaut missions over the next decade.
Splashdown!
Splashdown at 12:40 p.m. ET bringing the 25-and-a-half-day Artemis I moon mission to an end.
Parachutes deployed
12:38 p.m. ET: Orion’s main parachutes have been deployed.
Re-entry has started
12:20 p.m. ET: Orion has begun its entry interface as it begins to puncture through the upper reaches of the Earth’s atmosphere. Orion will be in a period of communication blackout for about five minutes due to the heat and plasma buildup around the capsule. The temperature will build up to about 5,000 degrees. Because Orion is attempting a “skip re-entry” it will skip back out of the atmosphere to bleed off some of the speed, heat, and g-forces. It will enter again and re-enter another period of communication blackout before achieving an altitude of about 40,000 ft.
Upcoming milestones
12:20:14 p.m. ET – Crew Module Entry Interface
12:35:28 p.m. ET – Altitude 40,000 feet
12:36:02 p.m. ET – Forward Bay Cover Chute Deploy
12:36:06 p.m. ET – Drogue Chute Deploy
12:37:26 p.m. ET – Main Chute Deploy
12:39:41 p.m. ET – Splashdown
Separation confirmed
12 p.m. ET: NASA confirms that the Orion crew module has successfully separated from its European Space Agency service module, the first major milestone of today’s re-entry and landing sequence.
11:45 a.m ET: Fifteen minutes until the separation of the Orion crew module from its European Space Agency service module which houses its thrusters and the Orbital Maneuvering System engine. The service module will remain in orbit for a time before plummeting back through the atmosphere and eventually burning up upon re-entry.
11: 24 a.m. ET: NASA spokesperson Derrol Nail reports that the sea state at Orion’s splashdown site is about 4-5 feet in height. That’s within the limitations of recovery operations.
11 a.m. ET: Good morning. Welcome to live coverage of today’s return journey of NASA’s Orion spacecraft. Splashdown is set for 12:39 p.m. ET off the coast of Guadalupe Island in the Pacific Ocean. Orion will be testing out a new re-entry technique that NASA refers to as a “skip re-entry.” Orion will dip once into the atmosphere blazing in before it skips back out to alleviate some of the stress of re-entry. It will then plunge back into the atmosphere for its final descent. Stay tuned as we highlight the milestones of today’s conclusion of NASA’s Artemis I mission to the moon and back.
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