CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s Orion capsule

reached the moon Monday, whipping around the far side

and buzzing the lunar surface on its way to a record-breaking

orbit with test dummies sitting in for astronauts. It’s the first

time a capsule has visited the moon since NASA’s Apollo

program 50 years ago, and represents a huge milestone in the

$4.1 billion test flight that began last Wednesday.

The close approach of 81 miles occurred as the crew capsule

and its three wired-up dummies were on the far side of

the moon. Because of a half-hour communication blackout,

flight controllers in Houston did not know if the critical engine

firing went well until the capsule emerged from behind

the moon.