The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched its Artemis I mission on Wednesday, the first uncrewed Moon-orbiting mission and the first flight of its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.
The Orion spacecraft is expected to be in space for about four weeks, maneuvering around the Moon before returning back to Earth. Made last year, the spacecraft already had one unsuccessful launch attempt in late August when the takeoff was canceled due to a technical issue. After multiple delays due to hurricanes in Florida, the launch underwent early on November 16 from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral.
The 32-story rocket was built by Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. The main goal of the test flight is to send an empty crew capsule into a far-flung lunar orbit, half a century after NASA's Apollo program that led to the first human landing on the Moon in 1969.
