Orion is not carrying any people, but NASA wants to find out all it can about how the spacecraft behaves in flight and what conditions it encounters in orbit and during re-entry. That’s why there are 1,200 sensors in place throughout the spacecraft and inside the cabin.
They will gauge the heat shield, radiation levels and exact conditions as Orion flies an orbital pattern that will take it through high radiation zones of the Van Allen belts and of course the scorching temperatures of coming back through the atmosphere. The spacecraft is now more than 2,100 miles above Earth on its way to a peak altitude of about 3,630 miles.
I think this is great..watching from NASA TV from home I took off work to stay home to watch this epic mark in history! #goteamorion #gonasa
Thank you NASA and Godspeed Orion. This is incredible to follow, the first step on a shared journey of discovery that is bigger than any one of us.