Ahead of splash down, Orion’s service module separated from its crew module. The service module burned up in the Earth’s atmosphere during reentry. The spacecraft then entered the Earth’s atmosphere. It performed a new “skip entry” technique that is designed to help the spacecraft accurately splash down at the landing site. According to NASA, this is the first time that a human-rated spacecraft is performing this reentry manoeuvre.
For its skip entry, Orion dipped into the upper part of the atmosphere and use the friction and lift to “skip” out of the atmosphere. After skipping once, it entered the atmosphere once again for its final descent.
Orion entered Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of over 40,000 kilometres per hour. The atmosphere slowed the spacecraft to about 523 kilometres. At an altitude of about 8 kilometres above the Earth’s surface, the spacecraft began deployed its parachute before it splashed down in the ocean after completing a journey of nearly 1.4 million miles.