NASA launches Artemis II crew on flight around the moon

After weeks of delays, NASA is finally launched a historic flight Wednesday to send a crew of four astronauts on a trailblazing nine-day trip around the moon and back.

The Artemis II mission — with commander Reid Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, astronaut Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen — lifted off at 6:35 p.m. EDT.

"Hey, let's go to the moon!" exclaimed Wiseman, speaking to a throng of reporters after he and his crewmates arrived at the Kennedy Space Center on Friday. "I think the nation and the world has been waiting a long time to do this again."

They originally planned to launch in early February, but the flight was delayed, first by hydrogen fuel leaks and then later by problems with the upper stage propellant pressurization system. NASA says both issues have been resolved, clearing the way for blastoff.

A test mission, full of firsts

This marks the first crewed flight atop NASA's Space Launch System rocket, the most powerful operational booster in the world, and only its second flight overall. It will also be the first piloted flight of an Orion deep space crew capsule. 

A major objective is to put the crew ship, named Integrity, through its paces.

Source: CBS News