Orion Capsule Finishes ‘By-the-Book’ Test flight in Pacific Ocean

After four and a half hours of flying around Earth, the new Orion capsule made a triumphant splashdown in the Pacific Ocean to end its debut mission. The spacecraft, designed to eventually carry people out into the solar system to asteroids, the moon and Mars, made this trial run unmanned, and appeared to perform flawlessly. “Every single system on this spacecraft functioned by the book from start to finish,” NASA spokesperson Rob Navias said on NASA TV’s live coverage. The dozens of reporters and a few astronauts gathered here at the Kennedy Space Center’s press site broke out in cheers when footage showed Orion’s three red-and-white-striped parachutes unfurling to soften its descent. The capsule plunged into the water at 11:29 a.m. ET. “There is your new spacecraft, America,” Navias announced.