Artemis 2 returns to Earth with planned San Diego splashdown

NASA's Artemis 2 Orion capsule is on course to splash down off the coast of San Diego at about 8:07 p.m. ET after completing a lunar flyby, reentering at roughly 25,000 miles per hour.

Four crew members left Earth, flew around the Moon, and completed a lunar flyby earlier this week. The Orion spacecraft is now on its way back and is targeting a splashdown off the coast of San Diego, California, at approximately 8:07 p.m. ET on Friday. The capsule will reenter the atmosphere at about 25,000 miles per hour (40,000 km/h) and slow to roughly 17 mph (27 kph) for an ocean landing. The mission followed a figure-eight "free return" trajectory that used gravity to limit fuel use after a precise translunar injection. Key details: - Crew: Four astronauts completed the lunar flyby and remain aboard the Orion capsule. - Splashdown timing and coverage: The article reports a targeted splashdown near San Diego at about 8:07 p.m. ET, with splashdown coverage noted to begin earlier in the evening. - Reentry profile: Orion is expected to reenter at about 25,000 mph (40,000 km/h) and decelerate to roughly 17 mph (27 kph) for splashdown. - Heat shield status: The heat shield is rated up to 5,000°F (2,760°C); NASA expects peak descent temperatures near 3,000°F (1,649°C). Engineers reviewed and revised the shield after material loss observed on Artemis 1, and NASA and Lockheed Martin spent several years addressing the issue. - Flight path and burns: The translunar injection was highly accurate, and mission control skipped the first two planned correction burns, relying on the free-return trajectory. Summary: This first crewed Artemis flight concludes its lunar flyby phase with a planned reentry and splashdown, a step noted as important for future lunar and Mars missions. Splashdown and recovery operations are the next scheduled events as reported.