On their way: Artemis II crew pulls moonshot trigger after 1 day in Earth orbit

It had been 53 years, 3 months and 17 days since the Apollo 17 crew — the final moon landing mission — left lunar orbit, headed back to Earth and ended an era. But a new era has finally begun with the Wednesday launch of the Artemis II mission from Kennedy Space Center, an event that will kickstart the agency’s plans to venture back to a place not visited for generations. “NASA is back in the business of sending astronauts to the moon,” said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman after witnessing the most powerful rocket ever ridden hurtle the Orion spacecraft into orbit on the way to a 10-day, lunar flyby that aims to ensure Orion is safe enough for the agency’s grand lunar plans. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen strapped into the spacecraft and launched atop NASA’s Space Launch System rocket, which lit into Florida’s skies like the tip of a burning candle. Riding the 8.8 million pounds of thrust, the SLS bested the power seen by the space shuttle and the Apollo program’s mighty Saturn V rockets. _______________ Hit the subscribe button to stay up-to-date on the latest news, and turn on the notifications to get alerted when the big stories break as we bring them to you live! For all the full stories seen here, go to kutv.com. Follow KUTV 2News on our other social media pages for more photos, videos and reports: Facebook: KUTV2News TikTok: @kutv2news X: @kutv2news Instagram: @kutv2news Threads: @kutv2news Bluesky: @kutv2news.bsky.social If you see something newsworthy happen, or you just witness something incredible, hilarious or adorable, you can send your videos, photos and news tips to kutv.com/chimein. We love sharing our favorites on kutv.com, our social media and our broadcasts! You can also submit tips by email or phone. Email: [email protected] Call the Newsroom: 801.839.1234 _______________ KUTV is a Utah-based station and a CBS Television affiliate owned and operated by Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. is one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country today. Sinclair owns and operates, programs or provides sales services to nearly 200 television stations in 86 markets. Sinclair's television group reaches close to 40% of US television households and includes FOX, ABC, MyTV, CW, CBS, NBC, Univision and Azteca affiliates. #kutv #saltlakecity #news #utah #nasa #moon #space #houston