NASA’s New Moon rocket launched on its first flight with three test dummies, bringing the US a big step closer to returning astronauts to the lunar surface for the first time since the end of the Apollo program 50 years ago. If all goes well during the three-week shakedown flight, the 32-story-tall rocket will propel an empty crew capsule into a wide orbit around the moon, then the capsule will return to Earth with a dive across the Pacific Ocean. December. The launch marked the start of the space agency’s new flagship program, Artemis. “Here we go,” the space agency tweeted early Wednesday. After years of delays and billions in cost overruns, the Space Launch System rocket thundered skyward, lifting from the Kennedy Space Center with 4 million pounds of thrust and hitting 160 kilometers per hour (100 mph) in seconds. The Orion capsule was perched on top, ready to leave Earth’s orbit for the moon, two hours into the flight. The lunar photo follows nearly three months of troublesome fuel leaks that kept the rocket bouncing between its hangar and pad. The US space agency was able to plug a leak late Tuesday night while fueling the rocket for a midnight launch. NASA expected 15,000 people to jam the Kennedy Space Center for the launch, with thousands more lining the beaches and streets outside the gates.
“Excited to see it go”
Andrew Trombley, a space enthusiast from St. Louis, Missouri, was anxiously hoping for a successful landing after several futile trips to the launch. “I’ve been down here a few times already to see this thing go up and cancel it, so, this is like the third trip down here for it, so I’m excited to see it go.” said the engineer. “I was too young for the Apollo missions, so…I wanted to be here in person.” The debut of the Space Launch System rocket, known as SLS, had three test dummies but no astronauts inside the crew capsule on top. NASA’s top priority for the $4.1 billion mission is to verify the capsule’s heat shield on re-entry so four astronauts can stick on for the next moon landing in 2024. That will be followed by a two-man lunar landing in 2025. NASA last sent astronauts to the moon in December 1972, ending the Apollo program. This time it hopes to establish a permanent presence – including a lunar space station – to help prepare for an eventual mission to Mars.
