Video: Orion EFT-1 test flight ends with a splashdown in the Pacific

A critical test-firing of NASA’s Space Launch System moon rocket in Mississippi ended just 67 seconds after it began Saturday, well short of a planned eight-minute burn that was supposed to clear the way for the space agency to finally ship the rocket’s core stage to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for launch preparations.

Jeremy Graeber, Orion recovery director, details how the NASA-Navy team will handle the Exploration Flight Test No. 1 after it splashes down in the Pacific Ocean.

The Orion spacecraft slated to fly around the moon on an unpiloted mission next year has arrived back at the Kennedy Space Center following an environmental test campaign in Ohio, ready for a series of final checkouts before officials pause launch preparations this summer to await readiness of NASA’s Space Launch System.