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Images: Orion's Dramatic Test Flight

See the Orion spacecraft, and a dramatic test flight on Friday that took it to a zenith height of 3,600 miles and ushered in a new era of human exploration aiming for Mars.

In this image provided by NASA, the Orion spacecraft descends before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, Friday, Dec. 5, 2014, following a dramatic test flight that took it to a zenith height of 3,600 miles and ushered in a new era of human exploration aiming for Mars. ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this frame grab from NASA-TV, the Orion capsule floats after splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, Friday, Dec. 5, 2014, following a dramatic test flight that took it to a zenith height of 3,600 miles and ushered in a new era of human exploration aiming for Mars. ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this photo provided by NASA, the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy Rocket with NASA's Orion spacecraft mounted atop, lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37 at 7:05 a.m. EST, Friday, Dec. 5, 2014, in Florida. NASA's new Orion spacecraft made a "bull's-eye" Pacific splashdown Friday following a dramatic journey 3,604 miles beyond Earth. The achievement opens a new era of human exploration to put people on Mars. The unmanned, 4½-hour test flight set at least one record: flying farther and faster than any capsule built for humans since the Apollo moon program. ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this image provided by NASA, following splashdown of the Orion module, U.S. Navy crews from the USS Anchorage begin recovering the parachutes while other teams begin safing the spacecraft as it floats in the Pacific Ocean, Friday, Dec. 5, 2014. Earlier in the day, Orion made a dramatic test flight that took it to a zenith height of 3,600 miles and ushered in a new era of human exploration aiming for Mars. ASSOCIATED PRESS
A NASA Orion capsule on top of a Delta IV rocket lifts off on its first unmanned orbital test flight from Complex 37 B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Friday, Dec. 5, 2014 at Cape Canaveral, Fla. ASSOCIATED PRESS
NASA's Orion spacecraft, atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket, lifts off on its first unmanned orbital test flight from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Friday, Dec. 5, 2014, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. ASSOCIATED PRESS
NASA astronauts, from left, Rex Walheim, Jack Fischer and Cady Coleman, cheer as they watch the landing of the Orion test flight on a television at the Press Site at the Kennedy Space Center, Friday, Dec. 5, 2014, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The unmanned test flight ended four and a half hours after it began. ASSOCIATED PRESS
A NASA Orion capsule on top of a Delta IV rocket lifts off on its first unmanned orbital test flight from Complex 37 B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Friday, Dec. 5, 2014 at Cape Canaveral, Fla. ASSOCIATED PRESS
NASA's Orion spacecraft, atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket, lifts off on its first unmanned orbital test flight from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Friday, Dec. 5, 2014, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. ASSOCIATED PRESS
This photo provided by NASA, NASA social media representatives Gabrielle Laine-Peters, of London, and Mark Brandley, of St. Louis, celebrate the launch of the the United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket, with NASA's Orion spacecraft mounted atop, from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Friday, Dec. 5, 2014, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this photo provided by NASA,the United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket, with NASA's Orion spacecraft mounted atop, lifts off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Friday, Dec. 5, 2014, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. ASSOCIATED PRESS
This photo provided by NASA-TV, shows the view from the Orion spacecraft atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket as it climbs to orbit during the first test flight Friday Dec. 5, 2014. ASSOCIATED PRESS
In this frame grab from NASA-TV, the Orion spacecraft descends before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, Friday, Dec. 5, 2014, following a dramatic test flight that took it to a zenith height of 3,600 miles and ushered in a new era of human exploration aiming for Mars. ASSOCIATED PRESS
Spectators cheer as the United Launch Alliance Delta 4-Heavy rocket, with NASA's Orion spacecraft mounted atop, lifts off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Friday, Dec. 5, 2014, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. ASSOCIATED PRESS
From left, William Gerstenmaier, Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations for NASA, Mark Geyer, Orion Program manager, Mike Hawes, director of Human Space Flight Programs at Lockheed Martin, and astronaut Rex Walheim, answers questions at a news conference after the NASA Orion test flight at the Kennedy Space Center, Friday, Dec. 5, 2014, in Cape Canaveral, Fla. ASSOCIATED PRESS
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