The Orion ship It returns to Earth this Friday, April 10, and its splashdown can be followed live from 6:30 pm EDT (4:30 pm CR time). The descent will culminate at 8:07 pm (6:07 pm CR time), when the capsule impacts the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego.
Coverage includes re-entry, parachute deployment and crew rescue operations, marking the close of the Artemis II mission.
How to follow the live broadcast?
The official broadcast will be available at:
- NASA+
- NASA YouTube Channel
- Streaming platforms such as Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Netflix, HBO Max, Discovery+, Peacock and Roku
Coverage will extend until after the crew has recovered.
What will happen during the transmission?
The live event will show the most critical phases of the return.
About 20 minutes before reentry, Orion will separate from its service module. It will then reach its maximum speed, close to 11 km/s, before entering the atmosphere.
For several minutes, the ship will be cut off. The plasma generated by the heat will block the signal while the capsule withstands temperatures above 3,000 °C and forces of up to 3.9 G.
After that section, the visible sequence will begin:
- Coming out of the communications blackout
- Drag parachute deployment
- Opening of the three main parachutes
- Final descent and landing
Where will the splashdown occur?
The descent will end in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of San Diego, where recovery teams await the capsule.
Helicopters will transport the crew to the USS John P. Murtha for initial medical evaluations.
Why is this return different?
Orion will not start its engines to return. It will follow a “free return” trajectory that uses the Moon’s gravity to redirect itself towards Earth, a design that prioritizes safety and that was already key in missions such as Apollo 13.
The primary challenge is to traverse the atmosphere within thermal and physical ranges that remain critical for manned exploration.
