NASA's Orion capsule enters far-flung orbit around moon
NASA's Orion capsule enters far-flung orbit around moon
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -
NASA's Orion capsule entered an orbit stretching tens of thousands of kilometres around the moon Friday, as it neared the halfway mark of its test flight.
The capsule and its three test dummies entered lunar orbit more than a week after launching on the $4 billion demo that's meant to pave the way for astronauts. It will remain in this broad but stable orbit for nearly a week, completing just half a lap before heading home.
As of Friday's engine firing, the capsule was 238,000 miles (380,000 kilometres) from Earth. It's expected to reach a maximum distance of almost 270,000 miles (432,000 kilometres) in a few days. That will set a new distance record for a capsule designed to carry people one day.
"It is a statistic, but it's symbolic for what it represents," Jim Geffre, an Orion manager, said in a NASA interview earlier in the week. "It's about challenging ourselves to go farther, stay longer and push beyond the limits of what we've previously explored."
NASA considers this a dress rehearsal for the next moon flyby in 2024, with astronauts. A lunar landing by astronauts could follow as soon as 2025. Astronauts last visited the moon 50 years ago during Apollo 17.
Earlier in the week, Mission Control in Houston lost contact with the capsule for nearly an hour. At the time, controllers were adjusting the communication link between Orion and the Deep Space Network. Officials said the spacecraft remained healthy.
------
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
A gay man is taking the federal government to court, challenging the constitutionality of a policy restricting sexually active gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned.
A Quebec woman said she was very surprised to find her stolen Audi had been used in what’s being described as an “absolutely insane” Ontario mall robbery.
After a tiny radioactive capsule went missing in the Australian outback, an expert in Canada says the likelihood of the same happening in this country is unlikely, given our strong regulations governing the handling of radioactive materials.
Nearly a year since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, community organizers say there is still work to be done to help the thousands of Ukrainian refugees looking to start a new life in Canada while coping with the hardships they've faced coming here.
As Black History Month gets underway, Canada Post has unveiled a new stamp honouring Chloe Cooley, a young Black woman who was known to challenge her enslavement in the late 18th century.
Scientists in Japan may have unlocked the key to recreating how plants perform photosynthesis, according to a new study, potentially paving the way for new ways to harvest solar energy.
A Quebec woman said she was very surprised to find her stolen Audi had been used in what’s being described as an “absolutely insane” Ontario mall robbery.
Nearly a year since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, community organizers say there is still work to be done to help the thousands of Ukrainian refugees looking to start a new life in Canada while coping with the hardships they've faced coming here.
On CTVNews.ca and YouTube: Health journalist Avis Favaro joins our Trend Line podcast, for an in-depth episode dedicated to the growing crises facing the Canadian health-care system.
Taiwan scrambled fighter jets, put its navy on alert and activated missile systems in response to nearby operations of 34 Chinese military aircraft and nine warships that are part Beijing's strategy to unsettle and intimidate the self-governing island democracy.
Israeli aircraft carried out several raids at a militant site in the Gaza Strip early Thursday, the Israeli military said, hours after Palestinian militants fired a rocket into Israel's south, raising already heightened tensions under the country's new ultranationalist government.
North Korea on Thursday threatened the 'toughest reaction' to the United States' expanding joint military exercises with South Korea to counter the North's growing nuclear weapons ambitions, claiming that the allies were pushing tensions to an 'extreme red line.'
The Biden administration released a long-awaited study Wednesday that recommends allowing a major oil development on Alaska's North Slope that supporters say could boost U.S. energy security but that climate activists decry as a 'carbon bomb.'
Australia is removing the British monarchy from its bank notes. The nation's central bank said Thursday its new $5 bill would feature an Indigenous design rather than an image of King Charles III. But the king is still expected to appear on coins.
A gay man is taking the federal government to court, challenging the constitutionality of a policy restricting sexually active gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned.
The NDP is calling on a House of Commons committee to expand its study of federal contracts awarded to McKinsey & Company and include other consulting firms that have received large contracts.
On CTVNews.ca and YouTube: Health journalist Avis Favaro joins our Trend Line podcast, for an in-depth episode dedicated to the growing crises facing the Canadian health-care system.
Lawmakers in Finland approved amendments Wednesday that will make it substantially easier for people to change their legally recognized gender in the Nordic country.
New guidelines on long-term care services by the Health Standards Organization say residents should receive at least four hours of direct care each day. If you or a loved one are living in long-term care, we want to hear from you.
After a tiny radioactive capsule went missing in the Australian outback, an expert in Canada says the likelihood of the same happening in this country is unlikely, given our strong regulations governing the handling of radioactive materials.
In 2022, San Francisco-based Yelp removed more than 2,000 racist business reviews before they went online -- a nearly 10-fold jump over the year before.
Scientists in Japan may have unlocked the key to recreating how plants perform photosynthesis, according to a new study, potentially paving the way for new ways to harvest solar energy.
Missy Elliott, Willie Nelson, Kate Bush, Iron Maiden, Cyndi Lauper, Soundgarden, Sheryl Crow and the late George Michael are the 2023 nominees for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, reflecting a mix of country, soul, hip-hop, metal, pop, rap-rock and grunge.
Beyonce is taking her "Renaissance" global -- the superstar will start a world tour in Sweden in May with stops throughout Europe and the United States.
Tsuut'ina Nation Police Service officials are encouraging any local victims to come forward following the arrest of actor Nathan Lee Chasing Horse in Las Vegas on sex assault charges.
Hindenburg Research, the financial research firm with an explosive name and a track record of sending the stock prices of its targets tumbling, is taking on one of the world's richest men. Hindenburg is back in the headlines after last week accusing Indian conglomerate Adani Group of 'a brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme.'
A report from an investor-focused advocacy group raises questions about how well some of Canada's biggest investors are meeting their climate commitments. The report from Investors for Paris Compliance (IPC) looks at the voting records on shareholder proposals by 19 Canadian members of Climate Action 100+, a global coalition with around 700 members representing over $68 trillion in assets under management.
As Black History Month gets underway, Canada Post has unveiled a new stamp honouring Chloe Cooley, a young Black woman who was known to challenge her enslavement in the late 18th century.
John Herdman is staying put. After a morning of speculation fuelled by a New Zealand report that the Canada men's soccer coach had agreed to take over the 105th-ranked All Whites, Herdman and Canada Soccer put out the fire with a statement Wednesday.
Brittney Griner's return to the WNBA this summer after being traded in a dramatic prisoner swap in December with Russia has collided with free agency, creating potential travel complications for the league out of safety concerns for her.
A good winter tire will always outperform an all-season tire in snowy, icy driving conditions and be the safer alternative. Edmunds' experts explain the importance of winter tires and offer advice on when to use them and how much you should pay.
The U.S. Justice Department has requested documents from Tesla related to its Autopilot and 'Full Self-Driving' features, according to a regulatory filing.
Europe is taking another big step toward cutting its energy ties with Russia, banning imports of diesel fuel and other products made from crude oil in Russian refineries. The European Union ban takes effect Feb. 5 following its embargo on coal and most oil from Russia.
