BENGALURU: At 3.54 am Thursday (IST), a 322-foot rocket lit up the Florida sky and carried four astronauts beyond the reach of Earth’s orbit — the first humans to make that journey in 54 years.Nasa’s Artemis II mission is now in flight, and the Moon is six days away.The SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft — named “Integrity” by its crew — lifted off from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center at 6:35 pm EDT on April 1. The twin solid rocket boosters ignited first, delivering more than 75% of the thrust needed to lift the 5.75-million-pound rocket off the pad. Their combined power, along with the four RS-25 engines already at full thrust, generated 8.8 million pounds of force at liftoff. Cheers erupted across the control room as the vehicle cleared the tower.The early minutes of flight went by the book. The two solid rocket boosters separated safely, and Orion’s launch abort system separated shortly after, exposing the spacecraft to the vacuum of space for the first time. About 50 minutes after liftoff, the interim cryogenic propulsion stage fired its main engine for the first time, raising the low point of the orbit to a safe 115 miles. Almost two hours after liftoff, the upper stage engine fired again for about 18 minutes, raising the high point of the orbit to 43,760 miles.Orion’s four solar array wings then deployed, with flight controllers in Houston confirming all four unfolded as planned, locking into place and beginning to draw power.The crew now has work to do before they can head moonward. They will spend their first 24 hours in space orbiting the Earth and running checks on the Orion capsule — communications, navigation, propulsion, maneuvering, and life support systems — while remaining close enough to Earth to return quickly in the event of any major problem. Only once all systems pass muster will they fire the engine burn that sends them on the four-day coast to the Moon.Nasa’s top officials did not understate the moment. “Aboard Orion are four remarkable explorers preparing for the first crewed flight of this rocket and spacecraft, a true test mission that will carry them farther and faster than any humans in a generation,” said Nasa Administrator Jared Isaacman. “Artemis II is the start of something bigger than any one mission. It marks our return to the Moon, not just to visit, but to eventually stay on our Moon Base, and lays the foundation for the next giant leaps ahead.”Associate Administrator Amit Kshatriya added: “Over the next 10 days, Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy will put Orion through its paces so the crews who follow them can go to the Moon’s surface with confidence. We are one mission into a long campaign, and the work ahead of us is greater than the work behind us.”The high point of the mission is expected on April 6, when the crew, if all goes well, makes their closest approach to the Moon. During the planned multi-hour lunar flyby, the astronauts will photograph and observe the Moon’s surface as the first people to lay eyes on some areas of the far side. Following the lunar flyby, the crew will return on a looping figure-eight path back to Earth, ending with a splashdown into the Pacific Ocean, expected on April 10.
