NASA’s Orion spacecraft successfully completed its first inspection and even managed to snap a selfie during its Moon flyby, which took place at 7:44 a.m. EST today. It fired off the orbital maneuvering system engine for 2 minutes and 30 seconds to accelerate the spacecraft at a rate of more than 580 mph
Orion’s cameras were used to inspect the crew module thermal protection system and European Service Module during inspection. The selfie happened when the team was observing the spacecraft’s external surfaces after it has flown through the portion of Earth’s orbit where the majority of space debris resides. There willsoon be a second inspection during the return phase to assess the overall condition of the spacecraft several days before re-entry.
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The spacecraft will perform the distant retrograde orbit insertion burn Friday, Nov. 25, using the European Service Module. Orion will remain in this orbit for about a week to test spacecraft systems. The distant retrograde will take Orion 40,000 miles past the Moon before it returns to Earth,” said NASA.
