Up, Up, And Away! Artemis 1 Takes off

Wednesday, November 16, 2022. 1:47am a moment that will affect the generations of us and the generations to come has happened. Artemis 1, after months of delay, lifted off from Merritt Island, Florida. 

A moment unfelt by the people of earth since 1975 has occurred. The official test flight of the Orion capsule has begun, to see if it is a capable craft to make the journey to the moon and back with minimal issue. This is the first launch in a series of three, as Artemis 2 will take people in orbit around the moon and Artemis 3 will be the first manned landing on the moon since July 15th, 1975.

At the instance of launch, the rocket began its 26 day mission. Lifting 2.6 million kilograms of contained explosions into orbit at a speed of 24,500 miles per hour. On its way up the heatshield experienced about 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit of atmospheric friction along the heatshield. 

The beautiful hunk of metal glided through the atmosphere and entered earth orbit. It now makes its way off to the moon on a historic mission for all of humankind.