Apollo's Successor Is Finally on Its Way Back to Florida...

U.S. Navy

Artemis I Orion Spacecraft Departs Naval Base San Diego (News Release)

The Artemis I Orion spacecraft is on its way back to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After completing a 25.5-day, 1.4-million-mile journey beyond the Moon and back on December 11, the spacecraft was recovered from the Pacific Ocean and transported to U.S. Naval Base San Diego, where engineers prepared the spacecraft for its trek by truck to Kennedy.

Orion is scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Multi-Payload Processing Facility by the end of the year.

Once at Kennedy, technicians will open the hatch and unload several payloads, including Commander Moonikin Campos, zero-gravity indicator Snoopy, and the official flight kit as part of de-servicing operations. In addition to removing the payloads, Orion’s heat shield and other elements will be removed for analysis, and remaining hazards will be offloaded.

NASA has also released new aerial footage of Orion’s descent through the clouds and splashdown taken from an Unmanned Aircraft System or drone. View new imagery of the spacecraft’s return to Earth here.

Source: NASA.Gov

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🚨 New, absolutely incredible @NASA_Orion footage to cure your Tuesday blues! 🚨

Orion splashed down on Dec. 11, bringing the @NASAArtemis I mission to a close. pic.twitter.com/YehusUeFI1

— Lockheed Martin Space (@LMSpace) December 20, 2022