Orion Launch: Astronauts Have Out of This World Viewing Party
This is the ultimate viewing party for a rocket launch.
— -- It was an out-of-this-world viewing party.
Astronauts at the International Space Station gathered around a laptop today to watch Orion's maiden voyage, proving to be the ultimate audience.
Italian Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, who was among the group that arrived at the space station last week, held onto the ceiling as she marveled at the state-of-the-art space capsule's test mission.
A photo of the group relaxing in their home in low Earth orbit was tweeted by NASA astronaut Terry Virts.
NASA's Orion spacecraft lifted off this morning from Cape Canaveral, Florida, to the delight of NASA engineers, who had been forced to scrub the launch on Thursday after a trio of problems.
The spacecraft, which could one day ferry astronauts to Mars, is set to orbit the Earth twice at an altitude of 3,600 miles before splashing down 600 miles off the coast of California around 11:30 am ET.
It's expected to go on one more unmanned mission before it's cleared to carry astronauts.