Well. Orion is back on Earth after what appears to have been a flawless landing.
https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1601995737449263104
I've made some critical remarks about Artemis in the past, regarding its cost, delays and seeming lack of imagination. So in interests of fairness, I need to also say that I am hugely impressed by the total start-to-finish success of the Artemis 1 mission, the very first flights of these vehicles. Everyone in aerospace knows how hard it is to get this kind of success the very first time a new rocket flies.
The idea of flying astronauts on this the second time it flies, on another very similar lunar orbit mission which is the plan, no longer seems fanciful. If the vehicle behaves as well next time, it should be a big success.
(NASA photos)
https://twitter.com/NASA/status/1601995737449263104
I've made some critical remarks about Artemis in the past, regarding its cost, delays and seeming lack of imagination. So in interests of fairness, I need to also say that I am hugely impressed by the total start-to-finish success of the Artemis 1 mission, the very first flights of these vehicles. Everyone in aerospace knows how hard it is to get this kind of success the very first time a new rocket flies.
The idea of flying astronauts on this the second time it flies, on another very similar lunar orbit mission which is the plan, no longer seems fanciful. If the vehicle behaves as well next time, it should be a big success.
(NASA photos)