Orion Spacecraft at Peak Altitude 3,600 Miles; Mission Control in the Ready Position; Parachutes Together the Size of a Football Field; Splashdown • FRI DEC 05, 2014 10:32 AM CT

Here's Earth as seen from #Orion during its flight out to a peak altitude of 3,600 miles away from the planet. pic.twitter.com/cBN0jpT2LV
— NASA (@NASA) December 5, 2014

Mission control is ready for #Orion to re-enter Earth's atmosphere. Watch splashdown 11:29 ET: http://t.co/ESXAb8kpeM pic.twitter.com/3cVB2R3Wq2
— Johnson Space Center (@NASA_Johnson) December 5, 2014

A gentle landing for a mighty rocket! Way to go #Orion! pic.twitter.com/6GOp9sU2Bs
— NASA Goddard Images (@NASAGoddardPix) December 5, 2014

#Orion splashes down, traveled farther into space than any ship for humans has gone in 40+ yrs http://t.co/XIGKtYSGiS pic.twitter.com/cY86bmbLR3
— WHO-HD Ch. 13 News (@WHOhd) December 5, 2014