Four astronauts on Wednesday blasted off aboard a massive NASA rocket on a journey around the moon, the first crewed lunar flyby in more than 50 years.
With a thunderous roar, the enormous orange-and-white rocket carried three Americans and one Canadian away from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center at about 6:35pm.
NASA teams and spectators alike were ecstatic as the spacecraft ascended into a radiant sky atop a cascade of flames.
Photo: AFP
The team, who donned bright orange suits with blue trim as the mission began, is: Americans Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Jeremy Hansen.
“We have a beautiful moonrise. We’re headed right at it,” said Wiseman, the mission commander.
US President Donald Trump praised “our brave astronauts,” calling the successful launch “quite something” at the top of a televised address.
The astronauts entered orbit around the Earth, where they were to perform checks to ensure the reliability and safety of the spacecraft, which has never carried humans before.
They successfully completed “proximity operations” demonstrations, which tested how their Orion capsule can move relative to another spacecraft and included maneuvers that mimic what would be needed to dock with a lunar lander.
“Great flying with you, Houston. Nice vehicle,” said Glover, the pilot.
Early on teams identified a number of kinks to work out, including “a controller issue with the toilet when they spun it up,” said Amit Kshatriya, NASA’s associate administrator, during a post-launch briefing.
“We’re just getting started,” Kshatriya added.
The astronauts were “safe, they’re secure and they’re in great spirits,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said. “NASA is back in the business of sending people to the moon.”
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