The Osiris-Rex spacecraft released the sample capsule from 63,000
miles (100,000 kilometers) out. The small capsule landed four hours later on a
remote expanse of military land, as the mother ship set off after another
asteroid. “We have touchdown!” Mission Recovery Operations announced,
immediately repeating the news since the landing occurred three minutes early.
Officials also added the orange striped parachute opened four times higher than
anticipated – around 20,000 feet (6,100 meters) – basing it on the deceleration
rate.
