Orion Launches Successfully

Via the Guardian:

Friday’s launch went smoothly, and cameras mounted on the rocket beamed back stunning pictures of the Earth as Orion blasted into the sky. The mission could have huge implications, despite its brief four-and-a-half-hour duration. Orion will fly farther than any spacecraft made for astronauts has in decades, about 3,600 miles (5,800km) above the Earth’s surface, and is a test case for a capsule that NASA hopes will one day land on Mars. As its second orbit comes closer to the planet, the Orion capsule will separate and re-enter the atmosphere, eventually splashing down into the Pacific off the coast of southern California, from where it will be recovered.