Successful launch of Orion spacecraft heralds new era of space exploration

NASA's new Orion spacecraft streaked into orbit Friday on a test flight meant to usher in a new era of human exploration, leading ultimately to a manned mission to Mars.

The unmanned flight was undertaken in order to test critical components, such as the heat shield, parachutes, various jettisoning components, before having a crew onboard. 

The spacecraft took off at sunrise, with parts of it falling back to Earth as planned. The craft will orbit the Earth twice, before landing after 4.5 hours of flight. Splashdown will be in the Pacific Ocean off the Mexican Baja coast, where Navy ships are waiting for the recovery.

For the first time in 42 years, NASA is sending a spacecraft built for humans further than a few hundred kilometres from Earth. The previous time was the Apollo 17 moon shot. It is also NASA's first new vehicle for space travel since the shuttle.