NASA astronauts bound for moon in landmark return mission
NASA’s four astronauts launched to space on Wednesday, kicking off a landmark journey that will take them closer to the lunar surface than anyone has been in more than 50 years.
The crew’s Lockheed Martin Corp.-built Orion capsule, stacked on the shoulders of Boeing Co.’s Space Launch System rocket, thundered off the launchpad at 6:35 p.m. local time at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The rocket system, taller than the Statue of Liberty, reached speeds of around 28,000 kph as it hurtled to space, blazing a trail of fire and smoke as it climbed and eventually shedding its spent side boosters, which provided extra thrust.
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