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Orion spacecraft powered by software from Cambridge's Draper Laboratory

Dec 5, 2014, 12:04pm EST

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Courtesy photo/NASA

U.S. Navy divers recover a mockup of the Orion Crew Vehicle during Sept. 17 testing intended to prepare for splashdown.

David Harris: Tech Editor- Boston Business Journal; Email | Twitter

When NASA successfully launched Orion — its next-generation vehicle for deep space exploration— and then landed it successfully on target in the Pacific Ocean Friday, it did so using guidance software developed by Cambridge's Draper Laboratory.

"As with Draper's past contributions to the U.S. space program, Lab engineers were proud to develop a key component of for Orion mission—key guidance and navigation algorithms," said Séamus Tuohy, Draper Laboratory's director of space systems, in a statement. "Orion reentered the Earth's atmosphere at a speed of more than 20,000 miles per hour –faster than any human space vehicle since the days of Apollo. Decelerating at nearly 10 times the pull of gravity, Draper's PredGuid system successfully guided the vehicle to its intended landing site."

According to a release from Draper:

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