Administrator Surveys Orion

2015-1019
NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, center, looks at the heat shield of Orion as Kelvin Manning, associate director of Kennedy Space Center, left, and Jules Schneider accompany him. Photo credits: NASA/Cory Huston

2015-1020NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden looked over the agency’s Orion spacecraft this morning for the first time since it returned to Kennedy Space Center following the successful Orion flight test on Dec. 5. Bearing the marks of a spacecraft that has returned to Earth through a searing plunge into the atmosphere, Orion is perched on a pedestal inside the Launch Abort System Facility at Kennedy where it is going through post-mission processing. Although the spacecraft Bolden looked over did not fly with a crew aboard during the flight test, Orion is designed to carry astronauts into deep space in the future setting NASA and the nation firmly on the journey to Mars.

3 thoughts on “Administrator Surveys Orion”

  1. Hello,

    I have one question regarding to speed of spacecraft (manned) which re-enters into the atmosphere, It’s speed is nearly speed of light (for some time, because atmospheric drag will slow down it’s speed).

    Will einstein theory come into the picture?

    Does spacecraft flying at speed of light go into the future when it lends on earth’s soil or not?

    Awaiting in others comment….!

    1. Orion returned to Earth at a speed of approximately 20,000 mph, generating temperatures near 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit. A system of 11 parachutes slowed it down for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

      Currently, there is no technology to enable a spacecraft to travel at or near the speed of light.

  2. Thank You Mr. Bolden for your leadership during the good times and the tough times for NASA. I have been and always will be a supporter of NASA, and the goals NASA seeks to attain. I encourage my political leaders to invest more into NASA, as the returns are many, and in mankind’s favor…Thank you to all NASA personal for their dedication to Mankind’s Quest for Knowledge. New Frontiers await our curiosity and our presence…Bob Soby

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