NASA has released dramatic footage of the mega-rocket’s recent flight into space, from a camera aboard the rocket.
On Nov. 16, NASA’s brand-new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket launched a spacecraft to the moon in a historic launch, making it the most potent operational rocket currently in use. Compared to the storied Saturn V rocket, which sent the first astronauts to the moon more than 50 years ago, its boosters produce noticeably more thrust. The space agency intends to establish a long-term presence on and around the moon using SLS.
The events in the video below can be seen just over two minutes into the flight from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. Two potent white side boosters are attached to the side of the rocket’s core orange booster. These are crucial components of the craft because during the first several minutes of SLS’s ascent into the atmosphere, they supply 75% of the thrust, or force pressing down against Earth.
But after they’ve spent their fuel, the boosters dramatically (though safely) blast away from the rest of the rocket, which includes the Orion spacecraft that sits atop SLS.
What a sight! The historic launch of @NASAArtemis I saw @NASA_SLS and @NASA_Orion lift off from Launch Pad 39B at @NASAKennedy on Nov. 16, 2022, at 1:47 a.m. pic.twitter.com/E7TJUGwT3Y
— NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (@NASAGroundSys) November 17, 2022
There is no crew on this Artemis I mission. Future astronauts will travel on the next mission, Artemis II, if the spacecraft successfully completes a challenging series of orbits around the moon and then survives a violent 5,000 degree Fahrenheit plunge through Earth’s atmosphere. As early as 2024, Artemis II could take flight. Astronauts may set foot on the moon once more by 2025 (though most likely later).
