NASA Artemis 1 mission: Megarocket and Orion spacecraft successfully launches amid historic return to the Moon

NASA’s Artemis 1 successfully launched early Wednesday morning, the first step in mankind’s historic return to the Moon.

NASA described the launch of the Space Launch System (SLS), carrying the Orion spacecraft capsule, as the beginning of "a new chapter in human lunar exploration."

At approximately 1:47 am, the Space Launch System announced the SLS successfully took off from Launch Complex 39B in Florida, beginning a complex, weeks-long process. 

"The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown," NASA said in a statement.

Within minutes, the rocket reached several key milestones — which were widely applauded by the NASA crew and supporters.