The Artemis 1 unmanned lunar rocket lifts off from the launch pad in Florida.
Florida, US:
NASA launched the most powerful rocket ever on a trip to the Moon on Wednesday in a spectacular flash of light and sound that marked the start of the space agency’s new flagship program, Artemis.
The 32-storey Space Launch System (SLS) lifted off at 01:47 a.m. (0647 GMT) from the storied Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
“We’re leaving,” the space agency tweeted.
At its zenith was the stationary Orion spacecraft that would later separate and complete one-and-a-half orbits of Earth’s closest neighbor, in a test run for later flights that would see the first woman and first person of color touch down on the Moon. Must be seen. soil by mid-2020.
The US last sent astronauts to the Moon during the Apollo era from 1969–1972. This time it hopes to make a continued presence — including a lunar space station — to help prepare for an eventual mission to Mars.
The launch took place despite technical issues that ate into the two-hour launch window that opened at 1:04 p.m.
A valve leak forced engineers to halt the flow of liquid hydrogen to the core stage on Tuesday night, although a crew dispatched to the launch pad resolved the problem after an hour.
Later, the space agency reported that a radar site monitoring the rocket’s flight path was experiencing problems due to a faulty Ethernet switch that had to be replaced.
It was third time lucky for NASA after two previous launch attempts were canceled due to technical reasons. The launch was also delayed due to weather setbacks, including Hurricane Ian, which hit Florida in late September.
‘extremely excited’
Around 100,000 people were expected to come ashore to watch the launch, with the rocket promising to light up the night sky.
Andrew Trombley, a space enthusiast from St. Louis, Missouri, was anxiously anticipating a successful liftoff after several futile trips to the launch.
“I’ve been here several times already to see this thing go up and it got canceled, so, it’s like, whatever, it’s the third trip here, so I’m excited to see it.” Am.” said the network engineer.
“I was too young for the Apollo missions, so … I wanted to be here in person.”
Kerry Warner, 59, a grandmother and semi-retired teacher who lives in Florida, was fired for the liftoff, which she said was “part of America and what America is.”
“Third time’s the charm. We’re looking forward to it.”
far side of the moon
The Orion crew capsule was being lifted under the core stage by two boosters and four powerful engines, which broke apart after a few minutes.
After one final push from the upper stage, the capsule will be well on its way, taking several days to reach its destination.
Instead of landing on the Moon, it will travel 40,000 miles (64,000 kilometers) into distant orbit—further than any other habitable spacecraft to date.
Finally, Orion will begin the return phase of its journey. When passing through the atmosphere, the capsule’s heat shield would need to withstand temperatures half as hot as the Sun’s surface.
The mission will last for 25-and-a-half days with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on December 11.
NASA is counting on a successful mission after developing the SLS rocket for more than a decade. It will have invested more than $90 billion in its new lunar program by the end of 2025, according to the Public Audit.
Artemis 2 will include a flyby of the Moon with astronauts in 2024, while Artemis 3 will see boots on lunar soil, no earlier than 2025.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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