NASA Launches Artemis I Rocket in First Step Toward Return to Moon

NASA's most powerful rocket in 50 years was launched early Wednesday morning. The uncrewed capsule is on a 25-day mission to orbit the moon and then return safely to Earth.

The agency’s Space Launch System rocket with an Orion capsule on top took off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:48 a.m. local time. The four main engines and two solid boosters lit up the night sky.

The Artemis I mission is the first flight of both the SLS rocket and the Orion crew capsule. It is also the first step in NASA's Artemis program, which is focused on sending astronauts back to the moon's surface by as early as 2025. This program includes sending the first woman and the first person of color to the moon.

The SLS rocket, built by Boeing, is designed to be the main vehicle for transporting humans to the vicinity of the moon. The Orion crew capsule, built by Lockheed Martin, will be used for carrying astronauts. With Wednesday's launch, NASA intends to demonstrate that the SLS and Orion can work together safely before anyone climbs aboard.

Approximately eight minutes after liftoff, the SLS will enter Earth's orbit and the main core of the rocket will separate from the upper portion of the vehicle carrying Orion. Then, roughly an hour and a half after launch, the upper stage's engine will ignite for 18 minutes to send Orion on its way to the moon.

Orion will approach the lunar surface from 60 miles (97 kilometers) in six days, using the moon's gravity to enter an elongated orbit. This will be a test to see if Orion can get in and out of lunar orbit before returning home. If successful, Orion will return to Earth, surviving reentry in Earth's atmosphere and splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on December 11.

This was the third time in the last two months that NASA attempted to launch this mission. The first try was scrubbed at the end of August after weather delays, hydrogen leaks, and a bad reading from a temperature sensor on one of the main engines.

A second launch attempt in early September was postponed after a hydrogen leak was discovered during propellant loading. NASA replaced the damaged hardware and then tried again. However, they opted to roll the spacecraft back to its main hangar to shelter it from Hurricane Ian.

NASA rolled the rocket back out to its launchpad less than two weeks ago, just in time for another storm, Hurricane Nicole, to hit Florida. This time, NASA opted to leave the SLS rocket on its launchpad to weather the storm. The vehicle suffered little damage and NASA engineers deemed it ready to fly.

Even though Artemis I is primarily a test run, there is still a chance that something could go wrong. However, NASA officials are confident that the mission will be a success.

"It's important to understand that this is a test flight," Bill Nelson, NASA's administrator, said in an interview before the first launch attempt. "They stress and test the system in a way that you would never do with humans on board. That's the point of a test flight."

The launch on Wednesday was the culmination of more than a decade of work. First conceived in 2010, the SLS was originally projected to launch as early as 2017. However, development delays and budget increases kept the rocket on the ground. Development costs have soared from an original $7 billion to about $23 billion, according to an estimate by the Planetary Society.

At the same time, the development of the Orion crew-capsule suffered its own delays and cost overruns. Audits have highlighted flaws in Boeing and Lockheed Martin's management of their respective projects, as well as testing and construction mishaps.

NASA has acknowledged the challenges it has faced in the past, but remains confident in its ability to overcome them. "We are developing new systems and new technologies," Nelson said during a press conference ahead of the first launch attempt. "And it takes money and it takes time."

Orion will remain in lunar orbit for approximately one week while carrying out several tests, including those that will help determine what conditions will be like for future astronauts traveling to deep space. One payload, called Callisto, includes an Amazon Alexa and a touchscreen with Cisco's Webex application. This will help test communication tools that astronauts may use while in deep space.

The craft will also deploy several small satellites that will travel into deep space, testing technologies needed for navigation or studying the moon and its radiation environment. One of the small satellites is set to land on the moon, testing technologies needed for navigation or studying the moon's radiation environment.

Orion's new heat shield will be put to the test on Dec. 11. If all goes according to plan, the shield will endure reentry temperatures of up to 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit before the capsule splashes down off the coast of San Diego. The shield will have to perform flawlessly before Orion gets the green-light to carry astronauts.

"The main objective is to test the heat shield," Nelson said in an interview. "You can't test that in a lab - you have to test this new heat shield and it's coming in hot and fast."