After overcoming some last-minute technical issues, NASA\u2019s Space Launch System, or S-L-S rocket and boosters successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, early Wednesday, carrying an unmanned Orion spacecraft into the heavens on an initial test flight to the moon.<\/p>\n
The lift-off came after months of scrubbed launch attempts and delays, the most recent of which was prompted by Hurricane Nicole, which pelted Florida last week.<\/p>\n
The gathered crowds at NASA\u2019s Press Site at Kennedy Space Center erupted in cheers as the countdown clock expired, signaling the take-off of the most powerful rocket ever created, which filled the nighttime sky in bright hues of yellow and orange.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always admired rockets and fast vehicles, and that\u2019s probably why I became a fighter pilot now,\u201d said Andrin, a Swiss Air Force F-18 fighter pilot who didn’t give his last name for security reasons and traveled from Switzerland to Florida just to watch the historic Artemis 1 launch in person. \u201cThe SLS rocket has about 250 times the thrust of an F-18 fighter jet so that is quite a bit more than I am used to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe loudest thing that has ever launched,\u201d remarked Florida retiree John McDonald. Many of his friends and family members are employed in the aerospace industry and are invested in the success of NASA\u2019s Artemis program to return to the moon, which is why the launch provided a much-needed sense of relief after repeated delays. \u201cIt validates what they have been working on for so long. They are so far over budget and so far over schedule, they really want to see this liftoff.\u201d<\/p>\n
McDonald joined throngs of visitors filling parks and viewing areas in the city of Titusville near Kennedy Space Center to witness the event he described as \u201cunifying\u201d for a country divided by polarizing politics.<\/p>\n
\u201cNobody here is talking about whether they are Trump people or Biden people,\u201d he said. \u201cPolitics doesn\u2019t enter into any of this. They are just here for one thing, to see space and to see that rocket launch.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the main goals of the 26-day Artemis 1 mission around the moon is to test the new Orion spacecraft in preparation for crewed missions that will land the first woman, the first person of color, and the first international astronauts on the lunar surface.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the first leg of the race to Mars,\u201d said Victor Glover, who is among the initial group of 18 astronauts tapped by NASA for Artemis missions that are to set the stage for a more permanent presence on \u2013 and around \u2013 the moon in preparation for the longer and more complex journey to Mars. \u201cWhen this is successful, we will have finished the first leg of that race and we\u2019ll be that much closer.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first crewed mission back to the moon \u2013 to orbit but not to land \u2013 is Artemis 2 currently scheduled for 2024, with Artemis 3 returning astronauts to the lunar surface as early as 2025.<\/p>\n
While he admits his chances are slim, Swiss fighter pilot Andrin hopes to be one of those chosen few to set foot on the moon. \u201cI always wanted to be an astronaut as a kid \u2026 we\u2019ll see if that works out.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Source: Voice Of America\t<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After overcoming some last-minute technical issues, NASA\u2019s Space Launch System, or S-L-S rocket and boosters successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, early Wednesday, carrying an unmanned Orion spacecraft into the heavens on an initial test …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n