NASA launches next-generation Orion spacecraft, which will one day fly to Mars
NASA launched its Orion spacecraft on a critical four-and-a-half-hour test flight on Friday morning. The launch comes after a series of delays on Thursday, when the launch was originally scheduled.
The uncrewed spacecraft, sitting on top of a Delta rocket, took 17 minutes to reach orbit after leaving Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and it will travel twice around the Earth before splashing down in the Pacific.
NASA called the launch "history in the making," because Orion is intended to fly astronauts into space as early as 2021, first to an asteroid and, in the 2030s, to Mars.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
