The U.S. is one step closer to putting astronauts back on the moon after NASA's new moon rocket blasted off on its debut flight early Wednesday.
“For the Artemis generation, this is for you,” launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson said shortly before liftoff, referring to young people who were not alive for Apollo.
Orion should reach the moon by Monday, more than 230,000 miles from Earth. After coming within 80 miles of the moon, the capsule will enter a far-flung orbit stretching about 40,000 miles beyond. "There’s a fair amount of risk with this particular initial flight test,” said mission manager Mike Sarafin.
But many hurdles still need to be cleared. The Orion capsule will take astronauts only to lunar orbit, not the surface. Reprising an argument that was made during the 1960s, Duke University historian Alex Roland questions the value of human spaceflight, saying robots and remote-controlled spacecraft could get the job done more cheaply, efficiently and safely.
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