Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: US space agency NASA on Saturday tweeted that Orion spacecraft is safe and secure after it splashed down in the Pacific Ocean approximately 600 southwest of San Diego Friday, wrapping up its first test flight that lasted about four and a half hours.
NASA tweeted:
#Orion is safe & secure in the @USNavy's USS Anchorage, which will return to @NavBaseSD. http://t.co/J2cE1uLB88 pic.twitter.com/pwTj2j45MZ
— NASA (@NASA) December 6, 2014
NASA had on Friday successfully launched its unmanned spacecraft Orion spacecraft on its first journey into orbit. The capsule was launched with the aim to carry humans to an asteroid or Mars in the coming years.
The Orion spacecraft lifted off at 7:05 am (0535 IST) from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
Initially, the first test launch was scheduled for Thursday, but was delayed due to wind gusts, technical issues with the rocket and a misplaced boat off the coast.
The mission was the first in more than four decades of a new US spacecraft intended to carry humans to the Moon, an asteroid, or Mars.
(With Agency inputs)
