CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Nov 16 (Reuters) - NASA's towering next-generation moon rocket blasted off from Florida early on Wednesday on its debut flight, a crewless voyage inaugurating the U.S. space agency's Artemis exploration program 50 years after the final Apollo moon mission.
[1/3] NASA's next-generation moon rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion crew capsule, lifts off from launch complex 39-B on the unmanned Artemis1 mission to the moon at Cape Canaveral, Florida, U.S. November 16, 2022.
REUTERS/Joe Skipper 1 2 3Addressing mission control moments after liftoff, Artemis launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson saluted the hard work of her colleagues.
SPACEFLIGHT STRESS TESTGetting the SLS-Orion spacecraft off the ground was a key hurdle for the ambitious Artemis program.
NASA's Office of Inspector General has projected total Artemis costs at $93 billion by 2025.