Transcript for Lift Off: Orion's Perfect Space Mission Test Run
Next to the stunning images. Blasting into space, and nasa launching the Orion rocket. They hope one day it will help carry humans into space, to Mars. And this perfect landing. What they did today that hasn't happened in four decades. Here's David Kerley. Liftoff. Reporter: Tonight -- The dawn of Orion. Reporter: Carried atop America's biggest rocket, Orion went where no other craft built for astronauts has been in 42 years. Out of low Earth orbit, 3,600 miles away, sending back spectacular pictures of Earth. The test flight of this empty capsule, designed to go to the moon or possibly Mars. We can go to other places. We can do other things because we've made it flexible and adaptable. Reporter: The key today, the heat shield. Would it protect astronauts at 20,000 miles an hour and 4,000 degrees re-entering the Earth's atmosphere? The moment of truth for Orion. Reporter: The heat of re-entry, the capsule survives. And multiple pictures of falling back to Earth. Its parachutes deploying all the way to splash down. Nasa's success, just weeks after two private space companies lost a rocket and a space plane. For longtime engineers, it was an emotional day. So we've kind of now finally done something for the first time for our generation. It's a good day. Reporter: A day closer for Americans to reach deeper into space. But it will be years before astronauts are in an Orion space capsule. With smaller budgets, nasa won't put people in the craft until 2021. But by any measure, today's flight was a welcome success. That was a lot of fun to watch. David, thank you. Now to the brewing threat
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
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