The Explorers' Club, № MLXI

Operation AXIOM: Destination Moon—The 10th Anniversary of Exploration Flight Test-1
5 December 2014: An uncrewed & unnamed Orion capsule lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station atop a Delta IV Heavy rocket; E.F.T.-1 was the inaugural flight of an Orion capsule, with a dummy service module; after two orbits, the Orion re-entered the atmosphere, simulating a Moon return; Orion CM-001 splashed down in the Pacific & was recovered by the U.S.S. Anchorage.

Commentary: The second flight of an Orion capsule would not follow for almost eight years, until Artemis I, 16 November-11 December 2022.

Ad astra per aspera.