The third time is the charm. At 1:47 a.m. Wednesday morning NASA launched Artemis 1 to the moon. The spacecraft took off without crew from the Kennedy Space Center.
The mission aims to eventually take humans to the moon for the first time in more than 50 years.
The first two launch attempts failed due to problems with a faulty temperature sensor and a liquid hydrogen leak. Weather has also played a part is forcing crews to postpone the mission.
It has been a long road for Artemis 1, and last night’s success is a major milestone.
“I’m telling you, we’ve never seen such a a tale of flame,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “And, I have to say, for what we saw tonight, it’s an A+.”
The rocket has begun its 25-day journey and is now officially the most powerful to reach earth’s orbit. But it will take several days for it to get to its farthest point, which is about 40,000 miles beyond the moon.
The capsule is set to journey back to earth and land in the Pacific Ocean on December 11.
