Closer to a Moon Landing #OrionSpacecraft
NASA’s Orion spacecraft, a ship intended to carry a crew sometime soon, had a successful launch on its trip to orbit the Moon. This is a test of the systems, so Orion will perform some intricate orbital acrobatics over the next three weeks, coming within 60 miles of the Moon’s surface at one point, and swinging out 40,000 miles at another.
If you missed the launch, here it is. Look at those solid rocket boosters!
The spacecraft should return home on December 11, at which time it will need to survive atmospheric reentry and a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean… When all is said and done, Orion will have traveled 1.3 million miles (2.1 million kilometers)—the longest distance ever traversed by a crew-rated capsule. But that’s not all, as Orion will set records for remaining in space longer than any other crew-rated spacecraft without docking to a space station and for being the hottest and fastest crew-rated capsule to hit Earth’s atmosphere. [All without a crew on board, since this is a test flight.] Gizmodo
Orion will also take pictures, and plans to emulate this classic Apollo 8 picture of Earth rise over the lunar surface. Find more from NASA on the cameras, click here: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-s-artemis-i-cameras-to-offer-new-views-of-orion-earth-moonWill astronauts step boots on the Moon once again in this decade? It’s an exciting plan. In the meantime, you can only go to the Moon in science fiction. Join a young pilot on the Moon, in orbit, and on the Earth in my latest trilogy. Hurry up and read the books before real-life overtakes the story.
Humanity’s future in space depends on audacious pilots, and it may help if they’re a little crazy.
Winnie Bravo is brash, reckless, and more than a little annoying as she careens from adventure to adventure, determined to prove herself.
She pursues a nefarious space probe and a scoundrel who will stop at nothing. What she discovers may get her killed, or worse, fired.
If you love traveling to the future for rollicking adventure, you won’t be able to put Winnie’s story down.
