Liftoff! Nasa launches mega Moon rocket
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, United States: Nasa launched the most powerful rocket ever built on a journey to the Moon on Wednesday, in a spectacular blaze of light and sound that marked the start of the space agency’s new flagship program, Artemis.
The 32-story tall Space Launch System (SLS) blasted off from the storied Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1.47am (0647 GMT), producing a record 39 meganewtonnes of thrust.
“What you have done today will inspire generations to come, thank you!” Charlie Blackwell Thompson, Nasa’s first female launch director, told cheering teammates.
Fixed to the rocket’s top was the uncrewed Orion spaceship that will orbit Earth’s nearest neighbour, in a test run for later flights that should see the first woman and first person of color touch down on lunar soil by the mid-2020s.
America last sent astronauts to the Moon during the Apollo era, from 1969-1972.
This time it hopes to build a sustained presence — including a lunar space station — to help prepare for an eventual mission to Mars in the 2030s.