NASA’s next-generation Moon rocket lifted off from Florida early Wednesday on its maiden flight. It is a major step forward in returning astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time since the end of the Apollo program 50 years ago.
The 32-story Space Launch System (SLS) rocket lifted off from the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral in the afternoon to send the Orion capsule on a three-week test trip around the Moon and back without astronauts.
The launch was the third attempt by the US space agency due to technical constraints, back-to-back storms and two excursions that took the spacecraft from its hangar to the launch pad.
rocket Artemis Marks the first flight of the SLS rocket and Orion capsule together.
It is built by The Boeing Company and Lockheed Martin Corp., respectively, under contract with NASA.
It signals a major change in direction for NASA’s Apollo human spaceflight program after decades focused on low-Earth orbit with the Space Shuttle and International Space Station.
Named for the ancient Greek goddess of the hunt – and twin sister of Apollo – Artemis aims to return astronauts to the Moon’s surface as early as 2025.
Twelve astronauts walked on the Moon during the six Apollo missions from 1969 to 1972, the only astronauts to date have placed humans on the lunar surface. But Apollo, born out of the Cold War-era US-Soviet space race, was less science-driven than Artemis.
The New Moon program has enlisted commercial partners such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX and space agencies from Europe, Canada and Japan to eventually establish a long-term lunar base as a stepping stone for even more ambitious human voyages to Mars.
The Artemis I countdown climaxed with the rocket’s four main R-25 engines and its twin solid-rocket boosters roaring to life, generating 8.8 million pounds of thrust that sent the spacecraft skyward and over the middle of Florida. lit up the night sky over the Atlantic Space Coast.
The rumble of rockets rocked the Kennedy Space Center as crowds of spectators cheered and screamed in excitement.
About 90 minutes after launch, the rocket’s upper stage is designed to lift Orion out of Earth’s orbit for a 25-day flight that will bring it within 60 miles (60 miles) of the lunar surface before sailing 40,000 miles (64,374 km). 97 km). ) beyond the Moon and back to Earth.
The capsule is expected to splash down in the sea on December 11.
(With Reuters inputs)
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