Orion's Fireball Ride: Astronauts Break Distance Record

0:00It's April 10th, Sydney News. Today starts now, AI-powered and ready. I'm Cory with the story. The four astronauts on NASA's Artemis II mission, Victor Glover, Reed Wiseman, Kristina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen just made history by flying farther, from Earth than any humans ever, topping 405,000 kilometers and beating Apollo 13's record from 56 years ago. After heading back now in the Orion capsule, set to splash down off San Diego just after 8 p.m. Friday local time, which is 10 a.m., Saturday, our impacts, time down under. This 10-day trip looped and passed the moon's dark far side, but the real drama kicks in during reentry. They'll slam into the atmosphere at up to 40,000 kilometers per hour, over 30 times the speed of sound, turning the capsule into a blazing. Fireball with temps over 2,500 degrees Celsius. Overheated plasma will form around it, blacking our radio comms for a bit.

1:00Folks are buzzing about the heat shield after Artemis I's uncrewed test showed over a hundred cracks and craters. A veteran NASA engineer called it whiskey, comparing it to shuttle disasters, but the agency's ball says they've got full confidence post-investigation. Still, it's the fastest crude reentry ever tried. To slow this beast down, Orion drops his service module 42 minutes out, then deploys 11 parachutes in stages from small pilots at 6,700 meters to massive 35 meter mains, cutting speed to about 500 kilometers per hour before hitting the Pacific. Airbags will flip it upright if needed for a safe exit. Cruise in good spirits, snapping pics and processing the epic views with recovery ships like the USS John P. Murtha waiting to scoop them up for. Check ups and a flight home to Houston. This fireball ride caps a milestone pushing us deeper into space.