About eight hours later, Orion will make its first outbound trajectory correction burn using the European Service Module, which provides the spacecraft with power, propulsion and thermal control. This maneuver puts Orion on a path to the moon.
The next few days after launch, Orion will venture out to the moon, coming within 60 miles (96 kilometers) during its closest approach of the lunar surface on day six of the journey. The service module will place Orion in a distant retrograde orbit around the moon on day 10.
Orion will also surpass the distance record of 248,654 miles (400,169 kilometers) -- set by Apollo 13 in 1970 -- on day 11 when it loops around the moon. The spacecraft will achieve its maximum distance from Earth of 280,000 miles (450,616 kilometers) on day 13 when it ventures 40,000 miles (64,373 kilometers) beyond the moon.
This is 30,000 miles (48,280 kilometers) farther than Apollo 13's record.
