NASA's Artemis I rocket launches on historic journey to the moon
NASA Space Launch System rocket, the world's most powerful, lifted off early Wednesday morning
Former NASA astronaut Leroy Chiao and former NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine discuss the unmanned mission that makes space exploration possible beyond Earth's orbit on 'Cavuto: Coast to Coast.'
NASA's Space Launch System rocket — the most powerful rocket in the world — launched from Florida's Kennedy Space Center early Wednesday morning.
The vehicle, carrying the uncrewed Orion spacecraft, lifted off from Launch Complex 39B at 1:47 a.m. ET. The SLS and Orion are on their way to the moon as a part of the Artemis program.
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The launch marks the first leg of the mission, during which Orion is planned to travel around 40,000 miles beyond the moon and return to Earth over the course of more than 25 days.
People at Veterans Memorial park watch as the Artemis I unmanned lunar rocket lifts off from launch pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, in Titusville, Florida, on November 16, 2022. ((Photo by MARCO BELLO/AFP via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said the mission will help NASA prepare for future human exploration on the moon and on Mars, although noting that "things will go wrong" during the demo.
The primary goal of Artemis I is to test the integrated systems before crewed missions, including the capsule's heat shield.
After reaching initial orbit, Orion deployed its solar arrays and engineers began to perform checkouts of the spacecraft's systems.
NASA’s Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, with the Orion capsule attached, launches at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Nov. 16, 2022, in Cape Canaveral, Florida. ((Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
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Orion separated from its upper stage, and science investigations and technology demonstrations — or CubeSats — are deploying from a ring that connected the upper stage to the spacecraft.
Around eight hours after launch, Orion's service module was expected to perform a series of burns to keep it on course, flying by the moon on Nov. 21. and expecting its surface.
If all goes well, Orion will return to Earth, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean in December.
In this handout provided by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), guests watch the launch of NASAs Space Launch System rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft on the Artemis I flight test, from Launch Complex 39B on Nov. 16, 202 … ((Photo by Bill Ingalls/NASA via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
Through the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the moon.
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The rocket was supposed to have made its dry run by 2017. Government watchdogs estimate NASA will have spent $93 billion on the project by 2025.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.