Relive the Artemis 1 launch as the Orion spacecraft prepares to return (photos)

The launch of the Artemis 1 Space Launch System rocket as seen from the press site at Kennedy Space Center.
The launch of the Artemis 1 Space Launch System rocket as seen from the press site at Kennedy Space Center. (Image credit: Josh Dinner)

As Orion closes the gap between the moon and Earth ahead of its Pacific Ocean splashdown on Sunday (Dec. 11), we're looking back at the epic launch that got us here. 

Tensions were high in the hours leading up to last month's Artemis 1 launch. Spectators began gathering at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and across Florida's Space Coast early in the evening of Nov. 15 in anticipation of the late-night launch attempt, and a few off-nominal occurrences during countdown spurred some doubts about whether the rocket would get off the ground at all. 

While NASA's new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket sat fueled on the launch pad, ready to launch the Orion spacecraft to the moon, connection issues at a ground tracking station and a leaky valve on the Mobile Launch Platform (MLP) put a hold on the clock and began pushing the liftoff time into the night's two-hour window. NASA officials addressed the latter by sending a "Red Crew" to the launch pad to physically fix the malfunctioning valve, which made tensions even higher. 

Related: NASA's revolutionary Moonboard launched Artemis 1 coverage to new heights

Both the Saturn V Center and the press site at KSC are about as close as anyone is permitted to get to the area's launch pads while a rocket is begin fueled. Both sit just under 3.5 miles (5.6 kilometers) from Launch Complex 39B (LC-39B), where Artemis 1 was launched. Getting any closer is a safety violation — except for NASA's Red Crew. These specially trained technicians are deployed to fix issues at the pad, next to pressurized and fueled launch vehicles. It is not a job for the faint of heart. 

Unsure how the night would proceed, many at the KSC press site began drafts of their launch scrub stories. Others sat silent, attention glued to the mission broadcast while the valve issue was resolved. Valiantly, the Artemis 1 Red Crew was escorted to LC-39B, where the trio made quick work of a set of "visibly loose" packing nuts that had been the source of the valve leak, according to the NASA broadcast. 

Vehicles with members of the red crew are seen as they arrive at Launch Pad 39B to make sure all connections and valves remain tight, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Vehicles with members of the Red Crew are seen as they arrive at Launch Pad 39B to make sure all connections and valves remain tight, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.  (Image credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Relief came as NASA announced the team's success and a forthcoming T-0 time from mission managers, but the excitement was interrupted by a hold called due to a faulty ethernet connection at a downrange ground tracking station. The clock was stuck at T-10 minutes, and again uncertainty grew around the possibility of launching.

During any night launch at KSC, there isn't any confusion about the launch pad's location along the horizon in the distance behind the countdown clock. Rockets stand bathed in a dozen of NASA's brightest spotlights, shining upward to set the stage for one of humanity's greatest technological accomplishments. SLS' massive size made it unmistakable in the nighttime hours along Florida's coast.

The countdown clock at the press site of Kennedy Space Center while in a planned T-10 hold during the launch countdown for Artemis 1. SLS can be seen waiting on the launch pad in the distance. (Image credit: Brett Tingley)

Finally, just after 1:36 a.m. (0636 GMT) on Wednesday (Nov. 16), Artemis launch director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson came on NASA's broadcast from mission control to give the "go" to resume the countdown. Silence fell over KSC's press room as she began: "On behalf of all the men and women across our great nation who have to worked to bring this hardware together to make this day possible, and for the Artemis generation, this is for you. At this time I give you a 'go' to resume count and launch Artemis 1." 

Journalists sprang from their seats and rushed to out to the lawn next to NASA's massive mission clock, which had begun counting down from its hold at T-10 minutes. Across the whole Space Coast, spectators gathered and turned their eyes to the horizon.

In what seemed like the blur of a moment, the remaining minutes on the Artemis countdown clock ticked to the final seconds. By the time the count reached zero, the four main engines of the SLS core stage had already ignited, bringing a glow to the launch pad's base viewed off in the distance. Cheers erupted as SLS' solid rocket boosters ignited and began to lift the vehicle skyward. 

The Artemis 1 SLS rocket ignites as seen from the press site at Kennedy Space Center on Nov. 16, 2022. (Image credit: Josh Dinner)

All at once, the light from the flames of the engines and the solid rocket boosters burst from the launch pad to reflect off the waters near the press site, turning the humid Florida night as bright as day as the rocket began to climb into Earth's atmosphere

The Artemis 1 Space Launch System rocket shortly after liftoff on Nov. 16, 2022.

The Artemis 1 Space Launch System rocket shortly after liftoff on Nov. 16, 2022.  (Image credit: Josh Dinner)

The light faded as the rocket flew higher, and by the time the sound of the engines' ignition traversed the landscape to reach spectators, the rocket was already well on its way to space. 

The Artemis 1 Space Launch System rocket heads towards deep space after liftoff. (Image credit: Josh Dinner)

A smoke trail followed the rocket's trajectory into the sky, its path nearly intersecting the view of the moon. Together, the two shone bright until SLS' solid rocket boosters burned out and detached from the vehicle, leaving a fading speck to carry Orion toward its lunar destination. 

The Artemis 1 Space Launch System rocket lights up the night sky at Kennedy Space Center on Nov. 16, 2022, illuminating the smoke trail left in its wake. (Image credit: Josh Dinner)

Fast forward to today: Orion has nearly completed its trip around the moon, and is scheduled to splash down in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday. 

Barring any mission anomalies or production delays, NASA is planning to fly astronauts to lunar orbit aboard Orion for Artemis 2 in 2024, with a lunar landing scheduled as part of Artemis 3 in 2025. 

Follow Josh on Twitter at @JoshDinner. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom or on Facebook.  

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: community@space.com.

Josh Dinner
Writer, Content Manager

Josh Dinner is Space.com's Content Manager. He is a writer and photographer with a passion for science and space exploration, and has been working the space beat since 2016. Josh has covered the evolution of NASA's commercial spaceflight partnerships, from early Dragon and Cygnus cargo missions to the ongoing development and launches of crewed missions from the Space Coast, as well as NASA science missions and more. He also enjoys building 1:144 scale models of rockets and human-flown spacecraft. Find some of Josh's launch photography on Instagram and his website, and follow him on Twitter, where he mostly posts in haiku.