The Orion space capsule that carried four astronauts on a 10-day trip around the moon has departed San Diego for a cross-country move to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The capsule is headed east after being recovered at sea and readied for transport.

The crew spent 10 days on a mission that took them around the moon. The capsule brought them safely back to Earth. It then arrived in San Diego for post-mission processing.

The U.S. Navy recovered the capsule from the ocean. Navy teams handled the initial recovery and transfer. Their work made the handoff to engineers possible.

Engineers removed parts from the capsule while it was in San Diego. Those components will be reused in future missions. The work will help speed up preparation for the next flights.

The capsule has now left San Diego for a cross-country journey to Florida. It will arrive at the Kennedy Space Center for further inspection and long-term processing. Teams there will continue work to prepare for upcoming missions.

This return and reuse effort supports the program’s next steps. Recovering hardware and reclaiming parts helps control costs and shortens turnaround times. Teams will continue to study the capsule and its systems as they plan ahead.