Launch of Artemis I

Artemis I was the first flight of the Artemis program, NASA's effort to return humans to the Moon, and the first launch of the Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket the agency had built since the Saturn V. It launched from Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center after several delays caused by hurricanes and technical problems. The mission sent an uncrewed Orion spacecraft around the Moon and back, to test the capsule and its heat shield as it re-entered the atmosphere at lunar-return speed. A number of small satellites were also deployed. Orion splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, and the results cleared the way for later crewed flights of the program.

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