Peak Altitude: 3,604.2 Miles

T+3 hours, 6 minutes – After reaching 3,604.2 statute miles above Earth, Orion is now heading back home at 20,000 mph. That speed is high enough to test the heat shield against temperatures approaching those Orion will see as it brings astronauts home from lunar orbit. Orion will encounter 8.2 Gs of force during re-entry, more than eight times the force of gravity.

The spacecraft’s reaction control system thrusters have been activated to steer the spacecraft later in the flight.

Flight controllers calculate that Orion will splashdown 1.3 nautical miles east of its prelaunch predicted target location about 600 miles west of Baja California. Two Navy ships, the USS Anchorage and USNS Salvor, are waiting in that area to pull the spacecraft out of the water. NASA and Lockheed Martin teams will work with Navy crews to recover Orion beginning soon after it descends to the ocean under its three parachutes.

5 thoughts on “Peak Altitude: 3,604.2 Miles”

  1. If it’s at 3600 miles and heading home at 20,000 MPH, how will it keep from accelerating into the gravity well? Isn’t 20,000 MPH the target fro entry interface?

  2. What produced the slowdown? You boosted for 4 mins to get to that altitude, what fired to get Orion back down?

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