BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — The journey is underway after the historic launch of Artemis II from Florida’s Space Coast.
NASA launched four astronauts from the Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday for a 10-day test flight around the moon.
The Artemis II mission lifted off at 6:35 p.m. for a journey expected to cover more than 620,000 miles.
The mission involves a crew of four circling Earth and swinging by the moon to test the Orion spacecraft’s systems.
The flight represents a critical phase in the Artemis program as the crew prepares for a lunar flyby and manual flight maneuvers in deep space.
The launch was originally scheduled for slightly earlier in the evening but experienced an 11-minute delay.
NASA teams worked to resolve last-minute technical issues involving the launch range and spacecraft batteries before the rocket was cleared for liftoff.
The mission crew includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch. They are joined by Jeremy Hansen, an astronaut with the Canadian Space Agency.
The team is traveling inside the Orion spacecraft, which is designed to sustain the crew throughout the 10-day flight.
While still in Earth orbit, the crew is scheduled to perform a manual flying test of the spacecraft.
This procedure is one of several system checks intended to evaluate the vehicle’s performance during the test flight.
Following these evaluations, the spacecraft will begin its trajectory toward the moon.
During the flight, the astronauts will tackle everyday tasks and run various tests to keep the mission on track.
A temporary communication glitch occurred shortly after launch but was quickly resolved by mission control.
The crew is scheduled to perform a lunar flyby on the sixth day of the mission.
During this phase, the four astronauts will travel around the moon and view its far side before returning to Earth.
Channel 9 will continue to follow the Artemis II mission and provide updates on Eyewitness News.
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