in the next eight minutes you'll experience a twenty five and a half day
mission from roll out to recovery the first integrated flight test of the
Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System rocket launching from the Kennedy
Space Center is about to unfold this is the first of many missions to
come that will use the deep-space exploration system to prepare our team
our ship and our astronauts for human operations in deep space rollout from
the Vehicle Assembly Building signals that launches near sitting atop the
mobile launcher the crawler transporter moves along the crawler way towards the
stork launch pad 39b at the Kennedy Space Center at a top speed of one mile
an hour after traveling over four miles the rocket in the spacecraft climb up a
ramp and are positioned over a flame trench once in position the mobile
launcher is lowered onto support post and the crawlers roll away to a safe
distance final checks are performed at the pad
including crew cabin closeout easy access arm sitting over 300 feet above
the surface of the launch pad the launch date is set and the teams are prepared
for the mission that is about to occur it's sunrise on launch day engineers in
the launch control center have already powered up the spacecraft in the rocket
and loaded the core stage and upper stage with cryogenic fuel his launch
window open approaches final checks are performed and when all systems are go
terminal countdown is initiated the big physics of launch are about to be put on
full demonstration umbilical plates weighing hundreds of pounds await their
cue to retract to clear the path of the rocket at liftoff some mounted on arms
the size of tractor-trailers the mighty core stage engines are prepared for
engine start is there a thermally condition for a non
rush of cryogenic fuel in the heat of ignition at t-minus 15 seconds sound
suppression is activated cascading water into the flame trench to dampen the
acoustic shock and is the core stage engines achieved full throttle shock
diamonds appear at booster ignition the flame trench is flooded with fire at
first motion all umbilical arms are retracted and the rocket clears the
tower in just seconds it lifts off the vehicle produces eight point eight
million pounds of thrust and lofts the vehicle weighing nearly six million
pounds and standing 32 stories tall to orbit
propelled by a pair of five-segment boosters in four liquid engines the
rocket achieves maximum dynamic pressure only 90 seconds in the mission the
period of greatest atmospheric force on the structure of the rocket thousands
will gather in Florida to watch our ship get smaller and smaller and leave the
Space Coast behind approximately two minutes in the mission
the boosters will have consumed all of their solid propellant inter safely
jettisoned the rocket will continue on guiding itself to orbit with magnificent
precision just three minutes and in the mission the service module fairings are
jettisoned to lighten the vehicle and expose Orion solar arrays just 40
seconds later the launch abort system is also jettison it isn't no longer needed
Orion could safely abort at any time
once at the desired velocity target the core stage engines are shut down in the
core stage separates the interim cryo propulsion stage with a Ryan will
continue to orbit the earth along the way that will pass through the altitude
of the International Space Station at 250 statute miles during this first
orbit the solar arrays are deployed so that Orion no longer needs battery power
it can now produce its own power following solar array deployment the
arrays are positioned into a load-bearing configuration to prepare
for the perigee Ray's maneuver the Rays maneuver will ensure in Earth orbit and
use the thrust provided by the interim trial propulsion stage once the perigee
Ray's maneuver is complete Orion systems are checked prior to committing to the
translunar injection or tli maneuver the tli maneuver must be successfully
completed to depart Earth orbit the tli burn is approximately 20 minutes in
duration and increases the spacecraft's velocity over 9,000 feet per second a
speed change faster than a high-powered rifle bullet travels following tli a
Ryan is committed to a lunar trajectory just one and a half hours after launch
once complete the spacecraft adapter will remain with the interim crowd
propulsion stage and they will separate from Orion is a Ryan two parts low-earth
orbit it will fly through the orbital debris field encircling the earth past
the global positioning navigation satellites past the communication
satellites in geostationary orbit and through the Van Allen radiation belts on
into the deep space radiation environment
Orion is now entering an outbound Co space the spacecraft is uniquely
designed to navigate communicate and operate in this deep space environment
the outbound coast of the moon will take approximately four days as Orion
approaches the moon the service module will be used to perform a critical lunar
gravity assist maneuver allowing the ship to enter a distant retrograde orbit
about the moon the moon will get larger and larger in the window and at closest
approach Orion will be just 62 miles from the surface of the Moon the
spacecraft flies around the far side of the moon we will lose all communication
back on earth and for a period of time Orion will be on its own Mission Control
will await acquisition of signal and as we lock on a new generation will see
their first earth rise the spacecraft is now in the distant retrograde orbit
where its systems will be tested in the deep space environment for over a week
along the way our ship will travel farther from Earth than any human
capable spacecraft has ever gone at the farthest point Orion will be some 1,000
times farther from Earth than the International Space Station at over
270,000 miles away teams in Mission Control Houston
and at Naval Base San Diego will prepare for Orion's return home and the recovery
ship will set sail for the recovery zone in the Pacific Ocean
Orion will exit the distant retrograde orbit with another lunar gravity assist
and service module engine firing along the way the trajectory will be adjusted
to target the Earth's thin atmosphere at over a quarter million miles away and
ensure precision landing in the Pacific Ocean following a direct entry during
the coast home Orion will maintain the desired tell the
Sun attitude to optimize spacecraft cooling and
maximize power production in the deep space environment another four days
return Coast home to earth is our home planet fills the windows of Orion an
important contribution from our European partners called the service module has
done its job the service module is jettisoned and
separates following separation the world's largest heat shield will be
oriented into the direction of travel to prepare for entry interface and an
altitude of four hundred thousand feet at entry interface a Ryan will hit the
Earth's atmosphere traveling at a speed of twenty four thousand five hundred
miles an hour and decelerated up to nine times the force of gravity the heat
shield will protect the spacecraft from temperatures half as hot as the surface
of the Sun approaching five thousand degrees Fahrenheit
Orion will continue to decelerate pass through the sound barrier and announce
its arrival to the waiting recovery team with a sonic boom following peak heating
a protective thermal cover that sits over the parachutes will be jettisoned
this begins a series of parachute deployments the drogue chute deployment
series is designed to stabilize and slow the spacecraft in a period of less than
20 minutes Orion will slow from the speed of Mach
32 to zero it splashdown the three main parachutes will deploy and slowly unfurl
and suspend the 22 thousand pound capsule and allow it to gently descend
to the surface of the ocean after twenty-five and a half days in a total
distance traveled exceeding 1.3 million miles a precision landing within
eyesight of the recovery ship following splashdown Orion will remain
powered for a period of time his Navy divers approach in small boats from the
waiting recovery ship after a brief inspection for hazards the divers will
hook up tending lines and a towline the capsule will be then towed into the well
deck of the recovery ship and once the capsule clears the stern gate the gate
will be closed the well deck will be drained and we will bring our ship home
we invite you to follow along at WWF gov slash exploration