NASA's Orion capsule made a blisteringly fast return from the moon overnight, parachuting into the Pacific off Mexico to conclude a test flight that should clear the way for astronauts on the next lunar flyby.The incoming capsule hit the atmosphere at mach 32, or 32 times the speed of sound, and endured reentry temperatures of 2760C before splashing down west of Baja California near Guadalupe Island. A Navy ship quickly moved in to recover the spacecraft and its silent occupants — three test dummies rigged with vibration sensors and radiation monitors.NASA hailed the descent and splashdown as close to perfect.
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