WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A four-member crew aboard Orion spacecraft has begun its historic journey to fly around the Moon after NASA's Space Launch System rocket, carrying them, successfully launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
After a spectacular take-off at 6:35 p.m. ET Wednesday, SLS is now orbiting the Earth, NASA reported.
U.S. astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen will remain in orbit for 24 hours to carry out checks before they get the signal to proceed with the lunar fly-by.
After reaching space, Orion deployed its solar array wings, enabling the spacecraft to receive energy from the Sun, while the crew and engineers on the ground immediately began transitioning the spacecraft from launch to flight operations to start checking out key systems, NASA said.
About 49 minutes into the test flight, the SLS rocket's upper stage fired to put Orion into an elliptical orbit around Earth. A second planned burn by the stage will propel Orion, which the crew named 'Integrity,' into a high Earth orbit extending about 46,000 miles beyond Earth. After the burn, Orion will separate from the stage, flying free on its own.
In several hours, a ring on the rocket's upper stage, which will be a safe distance away from the spacecraft, will deploy four CubeSats - small satellites from Argentina's Comisión Nacional de Actividades Espaciales, German Aerospace Center, Korea AeroSpace Administration, and Saudi Space Agency - to perform scientific investigations and technology demonstrations.
The spacecraft will remain in high Earth orbit for about a day, where the crew will conduct a manual pilot demonstration to test Orion's handling capabilities. The astronauts, with Mission Control Center teams at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, will continue checking spacecraft systems.
During a planned multi-hour lunar flyby on April 6, the astronauts will take photographs and provide observations of the Moon's surface as the first people to lay eyes on some areas of the far side.
As part of the U.S. space agency's first crewed mission under the Artemis program, they are scheduled to spend 10 days around the Moon.
Following a successful lunar flyby, the astronauts will return to Earth and splash down in the Pacific Ocean.
Among its objectives, Artemis II will demonstrate life support systems for the first time with crew and lay the foundation for an enduring presence on the Moon ahead of future missions to Mars.
'Today's launch marks a defining moment for our nation and for all who believe in exploration. Artemis II builds on the vision set by President Donald J. Trump, returning humanity to the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years and opening the next chapter of lunar exploration beyond Apollo. Aboard Orion are four remarkable explorers preparing for the first crewed flight of this rocket and spacecraft, a true test mission that will carry them farther and faster than any humans in a generation,' said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. 'Artemis II is the start of something bigger than any one mission. It marks our return to the Moon, not just to visit, but to eventually stay on our Moon Base, and lays the foundation for the next giant leaps ahead.'
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