NASA is going back to the Moon! We’ll follow the crew of Artemis II every step of the way.
Day 1 – Liftoff!
After resolving a last-minute communications issue with the Flight Termination System (FTS), the Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket lifted off from Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 6:35 PM EDT.
Main engine cutoff (MECO) for the SLS rocket occurred at 6:43 PM, placing the Orion spacecraft and crew members Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen safely into orbit around the Earth. Just before 7:00 PM, all four solar array “wings” were successfully deployed from the European Service Module.
The next major milestones are the perigee and apogee raise maneuvers — two engine burns which will put the Orion spacecraft into a higher orbit, necessary for the eventual trans-lunar injection (TLI) burn which will put the vehicle on course for the Moon.
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