Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Nov 16: In a spectacular blaze of light and sound, NASA launched the most powerful rocket ever made on a mission to the Moon on Wednesday. This launch marked the beginning of the space agency’s new flagship programme, Artemis.
The 32-story tall Space Launch System (SLS) blasted off from the storied Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 01:47 am (0647 GMT).
“We are going,” tweeted the space agency.
We are going.
For the first time, the @NASA_SLS rocket and @NASA_Orion fly together. #Artemis I begins a new chapter in human lunar exploration. pic.twitter.com/vmC64Qgft9
— NASA (@NASA) November 16, 2022
The unmanned Orion spacecraft was fixed to its top and will later separate and complete 1.5 orbits of Earth’s nearest neighbour as a test flight for future missions that should see the first woman and person of colour set foot on the moon by the middle of the 2020s.
During the Apollo period, which ran from 1969 to 1972, America last sent astronauts to the Moon. This time, it aims to establish a long-lasting presence, complete with a lunar space station, to aid in the development of a potential Mars trip.
Technical difficulties shortened the two-hour launch window that opened at 1:04 am, but the launch nevertheless took place. A valve leak forced engineers to halt the flow of liquid hydrogen into the core stage on Tuesday night, but a team sent to the launch pad quickly fixed the issue.
Later, the space agency revealed that a malfunctioning ethernet switch that needed to be replaced was the cause of issues at a radar station monitoring the rocket’s flight path.
NASA’s third launch attempt was successful after two previous attempts were scrubbed due to technical issues. Weather problems, particularly Hurricane Ian, which pounded Florida in late September, also contributed to the launch’s delay.
