NASA's 1st Orion Spacecraft Test Flight in Photos

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Service panel separation after Orion launch, mars mission
Service panel separation following the launch of Orion. (Image credit: EPA/NASA TV)

Orion Recovery

U.S. Navy

NASA's Orion spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean following its first uncrewed test flight on Dec. 5, 2014. The U.S. Navy's USS Anchorage assisted in retrieving the capsule.

Orion Capsule with Ship

U.S. Navy

NASA's Orion spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean following its first uncrewed test flight on Dec. 5, 2014. The U.S. Navy's USS Anchorage assisted in retrieving the capsule.

Orion Capsule with Helicopter

U.S. Navy

NASA's Orion spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean following its first uncrewed test flight on Dec. 5, 2014. The U.S. Navy's USS Anchorage assisted in retrieving the capsule.

Zodiac Boat and Orion Capsule

U.S. Navy

NASA's Orion spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean following its first uncrewed test flight on Dec. 5, 2014. The U.S. Navy's USS Anchorage assisted in retrieving the capsule.

Inflatable Boats Approach Orion Capsule

U.S. Navy

NASA's Orion spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean following its first uncrewed test flight on Dec. 5, 2014. The U.S. Navy's USS Anchorage assisted in retrieving the capsule.

USS Anchorage Approaches Orion Capsule

U.S. Navy

NASA's Orion spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean following its first uncrewed test flight on Dec. 5, 2014. The U.S. Navy's USS Anchorage assisted in retrieving the capsule.

Orion on the Well Deck of USS Anchorage

U.S. Navy

NASA's Orion spacecraft splashed down in the Pacific Ocean following its first uncrewed test flight on Dec. 5, 2014. The U.S. Navy's USS Anchorage assisted in retrieving the capsule.

Orion on the Well Deck of USS Anchorage #2

NASA

The U.S. Navy pulled NASA’s Orion spacecraft into the well deck of the USS Anchorage, following splashdown of the experimental capsule in the Pacific Ocean, following its first uncrewed test flight on Dec. 5, 2014.

Orion on the Well Deck of USS Anchorage #3

NASA

The U.S. Navy pulled NASA’s Orion spacecraft into the well deck of the USS Anchorage, following splashdown of the experimental capsule in the Pacific Ocean, following its first uncrewed test flight on Dec. 5, 2014.

Liftoff! Orion Soars Into Space

collectSPACE.com/Robert Z. Pearlman

On Dec. 5, 2014, NASA's first Orion spacecraft launched on an unmanned test flight to usher in a new era of deep-space exploration. Here, a Delta 4 Heavy rocket blasts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida to begin the mission.

See more photos of Orion's 1st test flight in this Space.com gallery. [Read full story.]

United Launch Alliance Delta 4 Heavy Rocket Launches Orion #1

Lockheed Martin and United Launch Alliance

A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy rocket carrying NASA’s Orion spacecraft for Lockheed Martin successfully launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, Dec. 5, 2014. [Read full story.]

Space.com Staff
Space.com Staff
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