NASA’s massive SLS rocket roared to life at 6:35 p.m. ET at the Kennedy Space Center, its twin solid rocket boosters and four engines cracking the air and lifting the Orion space capsule and its crew into space under a fiery orange trail.
Eight minutes after liftoff, they were officially in space.
NASA’s Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Jeremy Hansen will be the first humans to embark on a lunar mission since 1972.
Florida’s Space Coast was packed with spectators eager to view the historic mission. Officials estimate more than 400,000 people visited the Space Coast. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex said it had sold out tickets to the launch viewing, with thousands of spectators visiting on Wednesday.
The mission is a key testflight in NASA’s ambitious new plans for lunar exploration. Artemis II will test key parts of the Orion spacecraft, like its life support system and heat shields. Shortly after launch, the crew will manually fly the spacecraft around its service module, testing the maneuverability of the vehicle in space and its ability to dock with future lunar landers.
While this mission will not land on the moon – it’s flying on a lunar flyby trajectory – it will take humans farther beyond the moon than ever before. The crew will pass the far side of the moon at roughly 5,000 miles from the lunar surface – a view of the moon never before seen by human eyes. They’ll take observations of the lunar surface, which could help NASA plan landing sites for future lunar missions.
At the end of the flight, the crew will smash through the atmosphere at nearly 25,000 miles per hour, protected by a heat shield on their spacecraft, as they eventually slow down and splash down in the Pacific Ocean.
The Artemis II testflight is critical for NASA’s future plans to eventually land humans on the lunar surface. The following mission, Artemis III will test docking with a lunar landing vehicle. Missions moving forward will land on the surface.
Congressman Mike Haridopolis, R-Indian Harbour Beach, who chairs the space and aeronautics subcommittee, said a lot is riding on this mission, including the future of NASA’s lunar ambitions and the Space Coast economy.
“This is a big test for the USA, and I think that if we can find success, I highly anticipate we're going to see this space industry grow more,” he said. “And it's not just a national exploration. It is a growing part of our economy.”
