Happy Friday.
It was great to watch the live feed of the splashdown of the Orion spacecraft.
(The Orion spacecraft seems to be kind of upside down, or— it seems an odd angle to present to the viewer for the visualization).
Look at the Orion’s speed: 25,127 mph (7 miles per second).
Superheated plasma (ionized atoms from atmospheric gases) builds up all around the capsule, not just at the bottom, creating a “fireball” effect. The ionized gas enveloping the craft caused a 6-minute data and communication blackout.
The first parachutes (drogue chutes) for the Orion capsule deploy at an altitude of 20,000 to 25,000 feet (about 6 to 7.6 km, 4 to 5 miles) above Earth.
The final three main parachutes for the Orion capsule deploy at an altitude of approximately 6,000 feet (about 1,800 meters, about 1.1 mile).
NASA’s Artemis II mission took Wiseman, Glover, Koch, and Hansen on a nearly 10-day journey around the Moon and back to Earth.
Following a splashdown at 8:07 p.m. EDT, NASA, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force teams are working to bring the crewmembers and Orion spacecraft aboard USS John P. Murtha.
[Photo and caption by NASA/Bill Ingalls, posted on NASA HQ photostream on flickr.com]