Orion Spaceship Passes Landing Tests Successfully

About Orion spaceship on Habré have already been written more than once. It is this ship, with a diameter of 5.3 meters and a mass of 25 tons, that will be used to launch into space both cargo and people.

For example, it was on Orion that the astronauts would be delivered to the asteroid for its research. On the same ship, perhaps people will fly to Mars (after the successful completion of the asteroid mission).

The Orion prototype is currently undergoing a variety of tests, including testing the parachute landing system.

The last test was completed the other day, and everything went smoothly. The capsule was lifted on an S-17 military aircraft to a height of 10 kilometers, and then dropped down (the test region is the Arizona desert). The free fall lasted about 10 seconds, after which the landing system was launched using parachutes (2 auxiliary and 3 main). Parachutes are very large, their total area is almost equal to the area of ​​a football field.

Of course, these are only preliminary tests, because Orion, when it enters the atmosphere from space, will fall at a very high speed, about 32 thousand kilometers per hour.

Additional tests will be conducted in August this year. Orion

itself is the heir to the Shuttles, and, as mentioned above, with its help missions to the moon, Mars, an asteroid will be carried out. The first test flight, if the tests go smoothly, will be completed by the end of this year, with NASA's Delta IV heavy rocket. The launch will be made from Cape Canaveral.

Via NASA